Applejack Needs a Cock and Butterscotch Has One, but She Goes About Getting It in the Wrong Way

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Epilogue

Chapter 1

"I've given you my strongest brew. There's nothing more that I can do."

Zecora kept the black, bubbling cauldron between herself and Applejack. It felt closer to hiding than keeping distance from the mare in heat. The aromatic bitters being boiled so close to her nose helped with the smell Applejack's swishing tail spread.

"Zecora, please. I don't know what you did to this stuff, but it just ain't workin'. I try takin' double, triple, it doesn't do anythin'! Ya hafta have somethin' else! I'm goin' crazy!"

Zecora looked at the farmer with guilt and pity. It was plain to anyone who saw Applejack that she was suffering the peak of estrous. Snout flushed, eyes unfocused and jittery, her coat fluffed out and shining from sweat, and the smell. Zecora was no stranger to pungent odors, working as she did with the esoteric herbs found only deep in the Everfree, but the scent of apple spice and sex would take months to air out.

"My potions have helped you all they can. Prudence demands another plan. I have a poultice you can try. It doesn't stop heat; it ruins the pie."

Applejack stomped around the cauldron towards Zecora, "An' jus' what is that s'posed to mean? I know you're holdin' out on me, Zecora!"

Zecora ringed the cauldron to keep it between her and the sex-crazed mare, tail tucking between her legs and ears drooping as she backpedaled, "An ancient herb cooked down to paste ensures a mare the seed won't take! Her coltfriend can satisfy her procreative urge without worrying about expanding the herd!"

"I ain't got no coltfriend, Zecora! If I did, I wouldn't be comin' back here every dag-gon' day tryin' to get something to fix this heat! I know you're holdin' out on me! I can hear it in your voice!"

Applejack picked up her pace. Zecora turned tail and ran. The farmer chased her around the cauldron in reckless pursuit. Zecora kicked over a stand of flowers hung to dry, tripping her huntress.

"I've told you thrice in as many days, I cannot help you. Go away!"

Quick as a flash, she pulled from the ceiling a lemongrass net and caught Applejack in it, pulling the thrashing mare out of her home by her teeth and swinging her through the front door, slamming it shut and dropping a bar across it. Zecora braced flat against the door, hoping her effort would keep it from being kicked in.

Applejack wrestled herself free of the net, shouting terrible curses and threats all the while. Zecora wasn't sure what it meant to "blind a winker," but she had no desire to learn. Zecora breathed easy only long after Applejack's echoing expletives died off as she left the forest. She held her head in her hooves and sighed.

"Forgive me, Applejack, for causing you strife. If I didn't, Granny Smith would ruin my life. "

* * *

By the time Applejack galloped out of the Everfree, a mess of mud, leaves, thorns, and fluids, the sun was closer to after than noon. She didn't stop galloping when she hit the old, faded path skirting around Ponyville. A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane munched on a sandwich while laying down on a cloud, watching the dust cloud race from the forest towards Sweet Apple Acres. Tossing the half-eaten hay, lettuce, and tomato square into the air, she wolfed it down in a single bite and took flight, catching up with Applejack in seconds.

"Hey, AJ! Wanna race?"

When Applejack didn't respond, Rainbow Dash tried shouting, "Last one to the barn's a rotten apple!"

Dash took off like a bolt, flying low to the ground, leaving a rainbow trail right in front of Applejack's path. But Applejack didn't hear Rainbow Dash over the blood pounding in her ears. Didn't see her trail with eyes shut tight, head tucked, charging down the path by memory alone.

Dash's grin over the ground she had gained quickly turned into a frown when she saw Applejack's pained expression. She slowed down to Applejack's speed, reaching out to wave her hooves in front of Applejack's face.

"Hey, AJ! Slow down! What's wrong?" Applejack opened her eyes and, finally aware of Rainbow, fell out of her gallop into a canter. Dash smiled with relief, "Finally got through to ya! Why're you in such a hurry? Where's the fire?"

Applejack snorted, unamused, "Where's the fire? You wanna know where the fire is? I'll tell ya where the fire is, Dash. The fire's in my lady parts!"

Rainbow's wings stopped working for a moment at Applejack's brazenness. Dash hit the dirt and rolled to a stop, popping up on her hooves, "You-Your what?"

Applejack turned around, trotting back to her small friend, "My coochie, my hoo-hah, my va-gi-na." She punctuated each syllable with a stomp of her hooves, "I'm havin' the worst heat of my life right now and nothin's workin' for it!"

"Aren't you taking medicine for that?"

Applejack rolled her eyes, "It ain't workin' anymore, Dash. I've been havin' ta go ta Zecora the last few times, but even her stuff ain't workin' anymore!"

Dash quirked an eyebrow, "Have to go to Zecora? You don't mean..."

Applejack nodded, "Doctors say any higher a dosage and I'll turn barren."

Dash opened her mouth to ask another question, but was silenced by Applejack's overwhelming scent finally catching up to her nose. Her wings popped open and began beating it back. One of Applejack's hooves held her hat down against the powerful gusts.

"I'm sorry, AJ, but I just came out of estrous and I can't risk it coming back."

"I don't blame ya."

"And hoofwork obviously won't cut it."

Applejack shook her head.

Dash rubbed her chin with a hoof as she thought, "Well, why don't you just find a nice stallion to beat the heat with? I'm sure there are plenty of—"

Applejack gave Dash a hard glare, "No! I ain't doin' that."

"Uh, and why not?"

"Sex is somethin' you should only have with your special somepony."

Dash covered her snout with a hoof, holding back laughter.

"An' what in tarnation's got you gigglin' like a schoolfilly?"

Dash removed her hoof and waved it in a circle, rolling her eyes, "Applejack, sex isn't that big a deal."

Applejack stepped closer, "The hay it ain't! Just 'cuz I ain't some floozy like y'all doesn't—"

"Hey! I ain't a floozy just because I've had a few coltfriends before. And me and Soarin have been steady for years now. Don't start name-calling just 'cause you don't have a coltfriend yourself!"

Applejack's snout scrunched, "... Sorry, I didn't mean it. This stupid heat's gettin' me all testy. Gah!"

Rainbow Dash picked up the pace of her wingbeats, stepping forward and standing on her hind legs to pat Applejack on her withers, "I forgive ya. It's hard not to be jealous of a mare as popular as me. But enough about my conquests—how about we find you a 'special somepony,' AJ? You wouldn't have a problem with gettin' a good rut then, would ya?"

"... Maybe, but I ain't gonna find my special somepony on such short notice! An' I got too much farmwork to do besides. I can't go gettin' pregnant."

"Spells exist, AJ."

"Can't we just find me a spell or somethin' to get my heat over with so I can go back to work? I'd much rather do that than... ugh."

Dash clapped Applejack on the withers, "Uhm, hello? What do you think your medicine is? It's magic, dummy. And if magic isn't working, not even Dusk Shine can help ya. Well, not that way, at least..."

"No an' no, I am not gonna have sex with Dusk!"

"Why not? Pretty sure he's a virgin, too."

"That ain't the proble—he is?"

Rainbow Dash blew her mane out of her face, "Yeah? He spends all his time either up to his neck in books or worshipping Prince Solaris. Not a lot of opportunity there!"

Applejack brought a hoof to her chin, "Y'all haven't heard the way he talks about his big sister, though? Or the way Gleaming Shield hugs him just a lil' too long?"

"I really don't wanna think about if Dusk is bangin' his sister, AJ."

"Fair 'nuff. But like I said, that ain't the problem here. I need a stallion that's marriage material!"

"You don't like Dusk Shine?"

"It ain't that, Dash, I like him well enough. He's smart, eager, always overthinkin' things..."

Dash nodded, "And he's so cute when he gets all animated, explaining something I couldn't give a hoot about but don't have the heart to extinguish the sparkles in his eyes..."

Applejack nodded right back at her, "Or the excited lilt in his voice. Music to the ears. An' I won't lie, he's jus' the right height for snugglin' up against that luxurious tuft. I thought only pegasi could get that soft."

"You're tellin' me! I keep asking him what products he uses but he just says, 'Oh, you know, shampoo and conditioner!' For a stallion to have that coat... it just ain't fair."

"Sure ain't."

The pair slowly blush as they realized that they've been mentally ogling one of their best friends. They coughed and made distance between themselves. Dash had to fan her wings faster after a sudden blast from a certain mare overcame the wind.

Applejack stammered, "B-But he ain't cut out for farmwork! He ain't got any muscle on them bones. An' I'd never get any work done myself if he was out there tryin' ta experiment all the dang time. Farms don't run on research grants, they run on gettin' product to market!"

Dash nodded with vigor, "Yup, yup! Dusk Shine is not a good fit for us—you, not a good fit for you at all! Just the way the cookie crumbles, aheh."

A silence followed before Dash voices another option, "... Elusive?"

Applejack lead with a derisive snort, "He's such a filly about everything. Just 'cause he's mighty fine-lookin' an' charming an' a total romantic don't mean he's good husband material."

"Yeah, I can't imagine him doing any farmwork. He'd be all, 'Darling, do you really expect me to dig? I just got my hooficure this morning and I am not going to ruin it!' and, like, 'Just because I made work clothes doesn't mean I'll be getting them dirty, Applejack. Really!'"

Applejack stifled a laugh with her hoof, "That's him, all right. But, shoot, if I didn't know him as good as I do, I might be another one'a his whirlwind romances."

"Isn't his accent sexy? It's not just me, right?"

"It ain't just you, sugarcube. He'd have me outta my hat and into the hay faster'n you could spell hootenanny ." Applejack profusely blushed, "Uh, pretend y'all didn't hear that."

Dash grinned, making Applejack scowl, "That was the heat talking, right?"

"Of course it's my heat talkin'! I already told ya, I ain't that kinda filly."

"Juuust checking."

The conversation lapsed again before Rainbow Dash, scratching her head, says, "... Berry Pie?"

"No."

"... Yeah, nah."

"I love him—as a friend—but no."

"Gotta agree, 100%, not a good fit. For you."

"... Dash, what'd'ya mean, 'for me'? Are y'all sayin' ya—"

"How about Butterscotch?!"

"Butterscotch?"

Dash nodded. Applejack thought about the timid yellow stallion for a spell. "He is good with animals..."

"He's used to workin' messy jobs, too. It's hard to stay clean working with nature."

"Mmmhm. And I've seen how he handles Apple Bloom an' her friends. He can handle a herd of foals if he needs to." Applejack felt herself winking at the thought. She blushed, clamming up.

"And he's the kindest pony you'll ever meet. He'd give Prince Solaris a run for his bits if compassion was a competition!"

"But he's so timid..."

"That just means you can take control in the bedroom." Dash waggled her eyebrows at a reddening Applejack.

Applejack crosses her hind legs, trying to contain her arousal. She scratches the dirt with a hoof, "But, uh, I don't... I'd rather the st-stallion took the lead."

"Oooh? Applejack, I didn't take you for being submissive!"

"I ain't a wimp!"

"I didn't say that. But you want a stallion that knows what he wants, right?"

Dash took Applejack's pause as encouragement, a blush forming on her own cheeks as she continued, "You want him to tell you what he's gonna do to you and how you're gonna enjoy it?"

Applejack crossed both her legs, tail clamped tight between them, sticky with fluids, "T-That's private!"

"I can totally see it on your face how you want a stallion to throw you over a table and just fu—"

An audible stream shot into the dirt, "RAINBOW DASH! That's ENOUGH!"

Rainbow Dash fell over laughing. She flapped in the dirt like a swatted fly, choking back tears. "Holy cow, you're easy to read. You're redder than Big Gala!"

"Stop laughin' at me!" Applejack stomped towards Dash, who had rolled over onto her stomach and started pounding the ground with her hooves, laughing far too loudly, "Somepony's gonna hear ya!" Her eyes whipped back and forth, scanning for would-be eavesdroppers.

Dash calmed down from gut-busting laughter to a rolling snigger, a mischievous grin creeping across her snout, "Nopony's gonna hear us all the way out here, AJ. Watch..."

"Dash..."

Rainbow Dash got to her hooves, her mouth open to inhale.

"Rainbow Dash, I'm warnin' you."

Dash's chest expanded as she sucked in air.

Applejack pounced at the pegasus, "Don't you dare—!"

Dash leapt backward into the air, taking flight as she shouted at the top of her lungs, "HEY, STALLIONS! APPLEJACK'S A BOTTOM!"

"SHUT UP!" Applejack reared back on her hind legs and lunged through the air, hooves outstretched.

Rainbow Dash taunted her by flying just out of reach, then sped ahead low to the ground. "SHE WANTS TO BE YOUR GOOD LITTLE FILLY!"

"I DO NOT!" Applejack galloped after Dash, focused solely on catching up to that rainbow tail and kicking it clear across Equestria.

"SORRY, BAD LITTLE FILLY! SHE'S BEEN NAUGHTY AND NEEDS TO BE PUNISHED!"

"SHUT YOUR CIDER-SUCKIN' SNOUT! GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN BUCK YOUR FLANK!"

"AJ SAID SHE'S FINE WITH MARES, TOO!"

"I AIN'T A QUEER!"

"Y'know, AJ, they prefer to be called 'lesbians'?"

"I DON'T CARE JUST SHUT UP AND HOLD STILL SO I CAN TAN YER HIDE!"

"You're gonna have to catch me first!"

Chapter 2

Dash sped off before Applejack could speak, going off the overgrown road into proper wilderness. They raced through fields, over hills, and between trees. Applejack lost Rainbow Dash in one of the patches of wood dotting the countryside, coming out even more dirty and distressed than when she escaped the Everfree.

"DASH, YA HEAR ME!? SHOW YER FACE!"

She spun in circles, eyes frenzied, scanning the sky. Not a cloud to blemish the deep blue. Her ears swiveled independently, but heard no snickering from the still canopy surrounding the clearing.

"When I catch that filly, I'm gonna..." She reared back and stamped, "Gonna...!" then bucked, then stamped again, bucked again and again in lopsided circles, until she finally collapsed on the ground. She pulled her hat over her head and whined.

"Stupid Rainbow Dash... stupid heat... stupid farmwork... stupid AJ."

Nothing could keep her mind from the intense, burning desire Spring had put into her body, though. Rainbow Dash's momentary distraction from the pain of going without paid itself back sevenfold with nothing to occupy her. She buried her snout in the dirt and screamed, long and loud, almost raw. She pounded her hooves in a foalish tantrum, "I'M SICK AN' TIRED OF THIS ALREADY!"

"Uhm..."

"IT'S BEEN TEN DAYS!"

"Applejack...?"

"I HAVEN'T GOT A LICK OF WORK DONE ON THE FARM!

"A-Applejack?"

"JUST LET ME BE!"

"O-Oh, I'm sorry. I'll leave you to it..."

"Not you, Butterscotch. I'm talkin' 'bout this dag-gon' heat!"

"Eep."

"I haven't been able t—"

Applejack looked up at the stallion backing away from her, hiding behind his neck-length pink mane, yellow fur overtaken by a full blush. Elusive was handsome, but Butterscotch was in a league all on his own. His wiry build, long legs, and pristine wings all spoke to a stallion that would qualify for Prince Solaris' private guard without question. Applejack was certain he'd build the muscular definition of an elite if she put him to work.

She picked herself up, a hoof smearing dirt and drool across her chin, "H-Howdy."

The stallion retreated further, squeaking in reply. Applejack realized she had been led to Butterscotch's cottage by Rainbow Dash. Applejack decided she'd start with Rainbow Dash's wings when she caught her. She gave Butterscotch an embarrassed smile.

"F-Fancy meeting you here, Butterscotch."

"It's my home..."

Applejack looked past her friend. There was his tree-cottage, not an animal out and about on any branch or in any bush. Beaks peeked out from bird houses, otters from the surface of the stream, and rabbits from their grottos, "Hahaha! Yeah, it is. Well, uh, I'll be on my way, then."

"O-Okay..."

He turned around and walked towards the front door. Applejack couldn't keep herself from staring. She licked her lips. That rump just would not quit. If she lowered herself, she might just be able to make out his...

"U-Uhm, would you mind not staring at me so much?" Butterscotch's ears flattened as he shifted himself sideways, tail covering his flank in embarrassment.

Applejack shot up, rigid, "I-I wasn't starin' at your hot flank!" Her hoof met her face, "That's not what I meant! It's my estrous talkin', my estrous!"

Butterscotch meekly nodded and went into his cottage, closing the door behind him. Applejack mashed her cheeks with her hooves, mumbling under hot breath, "Keep it together for two minutes, filly. You'll be back home before you know it. Then you can bring out Mr. Fuji and be right as rain in a few hours. Heck, you might even plant them trees tomorrow! You just need to walk away. Just walk away."

Her legs refused to move. She chanted "just walk away" under her breath, trying to convince herself that she didn't want Butterscotch. She needed to leave, and fast, before she did something she would regret.

Well, probably regret.

No, no, definitely regret. And how could she do that to poor, innocent Butterscotch? Take his first time? She was sure he had his own special somepony he was saving himself for, and it wouldn't be her. Not that he found her unattractive. She was attractive, wasn't she?

The opening door interrupted Applejack's thoughts before she could get stuck in a cycle of self-doubt, Butterscotch half-hidden behind it. There was a blush to his cheeks as he spoke, "U-Uhm, you know, Applejack, if you're having a har—difficult time, and you don't mind talking to somepony about it, I could lend an ear. N-Not that I'm trying to get you inside! I would never t-take advantage of you. Not that I could! Uh—I mean—Oh, you probably don't want to talk to a stallion about this, right? I'm sorry, I'll let you b—"

"I'd love to." Applejack spoke without thinking. If she went inside, there was no way she would be leaving until Butterscotch had made her his. But Butterscotch's shy smile arrested any objections she had, the fire and tightness in her back half dragging those objections somewhere deep and dark, not to see the light until her heat had been resolved.

The stallion let the door swing open and turned, walking into the den. Applejack was all too happy to watch him go. If only that tail of his wasn't in the way. Unf.

She trotted up, eager to get a better view, passing through the doorway without a moment's hesitation. She pulled the door closed and locked it.

"Would you like some tea, Applejack? You can have the couch." Butterscotch's soft voice floated from the kitchen, "Oh, and cookies? Berry Pie brought over some delicious shortbread ones, with pecans and toffee! Too many, actually..."

"Sounds mighty fine to me, sugarcube. All my runnin' around today has got me hungrier than a fox in a hen house."

Applejack walked to the shadow of the kitchen entrance and leered. Butterscotch was a delight to watch when unaware. "In that case, I'll make some sandwiches, too!" She licked her lips as the stallion hummed to himself, filling a kettle and putting it on to boil before taking a box of cream cheese and a bottle of thick cream out if the fridge and placing them on the counter. The subtle flexing of biceps as he stood on two legs, barrel braced against the counter so his coat fluffed out across it, herb shears in hoof as he snipped fresh parsley, dill, and chives.

Applejack could imagine leaning against the counter herself, the heat from Butterscotch's barrel hot enough to work out every knotted muscle along her spine. Sunk in a soft embrace of vanilla and clover and musk, she'd let her head rest on the cool marble as his muzzle explored her neck, nibbling here, kissing there, working her over until she was little more than an orange ball of dough—

"A-Applejack! How long have you—"

The snapping open of Butterscotch's wings brought Applejack out of her fantasies. His muzzle was flushed, nostrils flaring, "... Oh. Uhm, wow. T-That's strong."

Applejack, flushed, didn't back down, "Yeah."

A silence followed. "M-Maybe you really shouldn't be her—"

"I ain't leavin' until I get to eat!" Applejack surprised herself with the force in her voice, and just how poor of a guest she was being.

Butterscotch flinched, "T-Then, please wait in the den. It's hard to cook when you're staring at me..."

Applejack backed up, her first hoofstep making a nasty squelch. She looked at her hind hoof and raised it. Translucent strands connected her heel to the damp spot on the carpet. Her damp spot. She didn't have to look to know Butterscotch saw it, too. She heard his cute little gasp. She bristled.

"I'm really... y'all got a towel?" She refused to turn her head to look at him, "An' a big one for the couch?"

"D-Don't worry about the rug, I'll get that. Towels are in the closet underneath the stairs. You just go and make yourself comfortable, okay?" He paused, eyes wandering over Applejack. She knew he wasn't looking at her like that, but that wouldn't stop her shivers. Her tail whipped from side to side, and she couldn't help but lower her head, letting her mane fall across her neck.

"A-Actually, if you want to, since you're, uhm, you've been outside all day and, well... you can—not that I'm saying you need to—but the shower's... upstairs..."

"A cold rinse would do me a whole world o' good right now."

Butterscotch gave a meek nod of agreement. Applejack left him behind and climbed the stairs, hanging her hat on the bathroom door before heading in. She looked at herself in the mirror.

It looked like somepony had tied her to a cart speeding through the Everfree, which wasn't far from the truth. She felt like she had been dragged through every forest from Ponyville to Manehatten. All the little scrapes and burrs marring her coat, bundles of tangled hair stuffed with leaves and twigs, her tail a sweaty, sticky, muck-covered mess that stuck to her when she tried swishing it. And she had tracked dirt all over the floor.

"You're one dirty filly, Applejack."

She could imagine Butterscotch saying that, leading her into a steaming shower. She whispered to herself, "S-Sorry for being a dirty filly, Butterscotch." Closing her eyes, she could almost feel him brushing against her, hearing him say, "It’s okay. I’m going to make a bigger mess of you in here."

She jumped into the shower and turned the knob all the way down, blasting herself with frigid water. The shock to her system had her yodeling.

Once Applejack finished her vocal training, feeling sufficiently clean, she hopped out and toweled herself off. She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Her mane free of detritus and undone, she paused, hairband in hoof. She wanted Butterscotch. Maybe leaving her mane down would... help that happen? Get him to see her not as a friend, but as a mare? It wasn't like her to worry about appearances. She tried whipping her mane over her neck, giving her reflection half-lidded eyes and an embarrassed blush. She only succeeded in blinding herself with her golden, still-damp locks.

She gathered her hair up and slipped the band on, "This ain't you, AJ. You're just gonna hafta be direct about it." The thought traced down her spine with a claw, curling around her dock and lifting her tail. She didn't like it. She wished she could be more delicate in this situation. There was intensity in being able to hint a stallion into taking her, one with the ferocity to act on fluttering eyes. She knew Butterscotch didn't have that ferocity. No, if she was going to get what she needed, acting coy was the worst possible way to go about it.

By the time Applejack made her way back downstairs to the den, Butterscotch had already set the couch for her arrival with a sheet covering it, thick towels laid across. On the table were two platters, one large with tea for two ringed by Berry Pie's cookies, amber morsels of toffee and dark-rimmed pieces of toasted pecan generously speckling the shortbread discs, the other small with a cross-hatched pile of narrow sandwiches, rectangular and crust-free triple-stacked wheat separating two generous layers of cheese, a light green from the blended herbs. Butterscotch, seated caddy-corner to the couch in a plush chair, gave a small smile and waved her over.

She walked over and considered the couch. Deciding it would be best for herself and the covers, she laid down on her barrel, within hoof's reach of the refreshments. Butterscotch poured out two steaming cups, pale lemon that smelled much as it looked, with a minty zing that tickled her nostrils. Stretching out to hold it between both hooves, she brought it to her muzzle and sipped. The taste did not disappoint.

"Mmm. This is good stuff, 'Scotch!" She set the teacup back down to pick up a cookie and dunk it, relishing the mint-citrus contrast to the sweet, softened shortbread, the toffee and pecans sticking to her tongue and teeth in a good way. Remembering her hunger, she nabbed a pair of narrow sandwiches and stuffed them whole into her mouth, a contented hum playing on her lips as the sharp herbs muted Berry Pie's sugary treat, creamy and peppered cheese sliding down smooth. "Real dang good!"

"Oh, thank you, but it's nothing, really." Butterscotch sipped his tea, light embarrassment crossing the bridge of his nose.

Applejack sprayed crumbs, double-hoofing sandwiches, "If this here's nothin', I'd love to see your somethin'!" Half of the stack was already gone. Butterscotch giggled.

The conversation lapsed as Butterscotch cleaned up what Applejack had left for him. When food was no longer an available distraction, he turned to his tea. Applejack had already finished the pot off herself, and was left cycling between doe-eyed stares at Butterscotch and nervously stealing glances when, thinking better of herself, she tried appreciating the humble cottage.

Her scent, lingering from when she first entered, began to mount. The movements of her tail only served to help spread it. Butterscotch retreated into his seat, almost sinking, until he was an adorable butter-colored bundle of flushed nerves. Applejack had to break the silence, "So... about that thing..."

"Meep." She could tell he was having second thoughts about this whole conversation, situation, his existence in this moment itself. Her face ablaze, and her whole body hot besides, she was at a final juncture. Her next choice of words would change the course of her life, likely forever. She drew inward, thinking to herself as clear as she could manage.

"Applejack?"

Life on the farm wasn't lonely. She was kept far too busy to allow herself an idle moment of fancy. Sun-up, she was thinking about everything she had to do that day. Sun-down, she passed out on her bed from exhaustion. But, lying here, thinking to herself, she wondered if she hadn't been avoiding her loneliness by overworking.

"Uhm... A-Applejack?"

Apple Bloom was old enough to make a real dent, if Applejack would let her, and Big Gala had stopped fighting Applejack about workload a long time ago. There'd be enough time to raise her foals if she delegated.

"You're staring... a lot. At me."

And if she didn't go for Butterscotch, who else was there? She didn't know much about dating, and trying to find a special somepony would take her away from the farm for far too long. Butterscotch was the only one that she could see herself with. But did he feel the same way?

"Applejack!" Butterscotch's tone—and hoof—shook her from her thoughts. The stallion sighed in relief when she blinked at him.

"Thank goodness. I was worried for a moment." He turned back and took his seat, again denying Applejack a show. She bit her lip. Was he not interested?

Only one way to find out.

"Do ya like me, Butterscotch?"

"Y-Yes? You're one of my best friends, Applejack."

"I mean as a mare."

She noticed that he was keeping his hooves tucked between his thighs, and how they kneaded the cushion as he stammered out, "Well, that's a bit... I mean, you are a mare, not a stallion, and I'm a stallion, not a mare, so it'd be natural to... have thought about you like that, maybe? In a non-platonic sense?" He stared straight down, long mane hiding his face.

Applejack's bitten lip turned into a small, then wide smile as she parsed Butterscotch's admission. "So I got a chance, then."

"A chance?"

"At bein' your special somepony."

He squeaked and looked up at her. "Applejack! T-That's very, uhm, forward of you to say."

"I ain't hearin' a no..."

"This is about your estrous, right? Surely there are far better ways to—"

"I don't want a one-and-done fling, 'Scotch. I want a special somepony."

"I-Isn't there medicine for—"

Applejack snorted, jabbing a hoof at Butterscotch, "I've been takin' medicine since it started. Nothin's workin' anymore—No, not even Zecora—an' I can't imagine myself with anypony other than you. Not Dusk Shine, not Elusive, not Berry Pie. You're the sweetest, kindest stallion I know—"

Butterscotch's voice got softer, "A-Applejack, I—"

"—amazin' with foals, which I've seen first-hoof and find very attractive—"

He lowered himself behind an arm of his chair, "I'm not—"

"—downright one'a the most handsome stallions I ever did see—"

Butterscotch had all but disappeared, "—Elusive is mo—"

"—even got Elusive beat by long mile, yer a great cook, got green enough hooves for my likin' if them herbs were anythin' to go by, don't make a fuss if ya gotta do some work even if you aren't the strongest stallion around—"

"—I—"

"—An', quite frankly, the more I think about you the more I want you."

"O-Oh..."

Butterscotch had, at some point, crawled underneath the cushion in his seat. He stuck out awkwardly, red to his ears.

Applejack took this as a good sign.

"Look, Butterscotch, I know it's a lot to take in all at once, especially since I kinda just showed up on your doorstep half an hour ago and am now propositionin' you for carnal relations, but you know I ain't a liar an' wouldn't be sayin' all this stuff if I didn't believe every single word of it."

Butterscotch nodded, the cushion jostling on top.

"This ain't easy for me, neither. I... I got nopony else I can turn to. And that's my fault for puttin' it off for so long. And... it's my first time, too. And..."

"T-Too?"

"And if I don't get rutted hard tonight I swear to Prince Solaris I'm gonna jump the first stallion I see tomorrow."

"... That wouldn't be good at all."

"No, 'Scotch, no it would not. I need you." Applejack tensed. She could see the hamster running in his head as he took everything in and thought it through. Every muscle, fiber, tendon, and vein in her throbbed with adrenaline and anticipation, her very breath hanging on Butterscotch's little thinking noises. He can't say no. He couldn't. She might explode if he did, and not in the metaphorical sense.

He crawled out from beneath his cushion and sighed, giving Applejack a sad look, "I don't—"

Applejack whimpered, "Please, Butterscotch."

"But I'm not—"

"Please!" She crawled off the couch and laid before him, forehooves together and pleading, "I'm beggin' ya! I can't take it anymore! I can't!"

Butterscotch climbed over the arm of his chair and hid behind it, head poking out around the corner, "I can't—"

Her green eyes shimmered with tears and she wriggled across the floor towards him, "Can't? Can't what? Can't rut me? Am I that ugly? Am I too old? Do you hate me?"

He backed away from the chair, "No, but—"

"But what? What? WHAT? Do you know how patient I've been this whole time?! I coulda jumped your bones as soon as I came in, but I didn't! I held out. I'm still holdin' out." Applejack found her legs and marched towards Butterscotch.

He kept backing up, "I-I—"

"You—You—You—You what? What? Spit it out!"

"I—Uh—I—I don't have any—"

"Don't want 'em, don't need 'em."

"But you could get—"

"I want 'em."

"I'm not ready to be a father, Applejack!" Butterscotch's rump hit the wall.

Applejack pressed herself snout to snout with Butterscotch, making him scrunch, "Then I'll raise 'em myself! Forget everythin' else, Butterscotch. I want a simple answer. Yes, or no."

"T-To wh—"

"Do you want to rut me. Yes, or no."

She pulled her head back just enough to come off of Butterscotch's muzzle. His breathing was quick and shallow. He avoided Applejack's stare for as long as he could. The seconds dragged on. They turned into minutes. Applejack's scent filled their small corner of the room. She could see his eyes become glassy. Tears at the corners.

Finally, he met her eyes.

"I—It would be nice, b—"

Applejack kissed him. She kissed him with force, pressing into his lips until he reared up, and followed through until his back was against the wall. She reared up herself, planting both hooves beneath his forelimbs on the wall, and pressed further, through his whimpers, through the quiet of feathers spreading, until she felt something soft and hot pressing against her barrel.

Saliva connected them when she pulled from the kiss. Butterscotch was panting. She lifted his snout with hers, running it over her face until she had an ear against his throat, marveling at the proof extending from his sheath that she had an effect on him. His gasps of air synchronized with the throbbing of his yellow-mottled cock.

"That's a yes." She slid down towards it.

"Applejack... we can't..." Butterscotch's stomach heaved like a bellows, just far enough to brush against the inward-curving tip, each time causing the pegasus to wince.

"We're gonna." Applejack didn't give him a chance to refuse before planting the tip of her nose against his flared head, inhaling deep. A sharp gasp. A dizzying musk, sweet and foul, clouded her mind. She opened her mouth and licked the flare. Her reward was another gasp and a bead of pre, tasting of salt and honeysuckle. Addicting. She wrapped her mouth around Butterscotch's cockhead and sucked. They shared a moan.

The flesh was soft and pulsing, massaging her lips and tongue, but that belied its rigidity. Like a velveteen-wrapped bough, a ferocious thing, paradoxical by both its structure and its owner. She ran her tongue beneath it, tasting his heartbeat.

No longer able to stand against the wall, Butterscotch fell atop Applejack, stabilizing himself on her back. As he came forward, his erection tapped against the back of her throat. She gagged. It sounded ugly, as if she was about to retch. She loved it. She could feel herself winking like mad. But Butterscotch withdrew from her.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to—"

She hated that. Hated his refusal. Hated the warmth leaving her mouth. She thrust her head forward until she gagged again, closing her mouth as hard as she could without injuring him.

"A—Applejack! Not so—oooh!" Butterscotch was lifted, held in place by his grasp around her barrel and Applejack's suction. She angled her head up with a grunt, gravity forcing the pegasus to bang against the back of her throat. Another gag, another ugly sound. If he would just... just use her! She could take all of him! She knew she could.

"P-Put me down, p-please! And—nnngh—not so hard..."

Applejack walked backward, precious cargo in tow, not letting up in any capacity. Try as she might, she couldn't overcome her gag reflex. Oh well. That's not the main event. Finally, the couch came back into view. She turned towards it and lowered her head, touching Butterscotch down on its edge. The pegasus pushed off her and, once seated, grabbed Applejack by her cheeks and pulled her off his cock. Tease.

Now that he was seated, Applejack could get a good look. She sat on the floor between his legs, holding his legs apart by the inside of his stifles, eyes turned upward and in awe. She shoved her snout into his balls and inhaled, their even softer flesh sticking to her nostrils, drowning her in musk. She scooted herself closer, mewling as the rough fabric of the carpet rubbed her marehood. She dug her snout beneath his balls, letting them rest on the bridge of her nose, and lifted her head. She could feel their weight, the way they wiggled down her snout, how they bounced freely off it when she shook herself. She was enraptured by them.

"Applejack... please, it's not too late... we can still... stop..."

Applejack pulled herself from Paradise and looked up at Butterscotch. He was giving in. She knew he was. It was all over his face. He couldn't fight it any longer. They were past the point of stopping. He was going to mount her and take her all the way to motherhood, pressing down and keeping her there until he was satisfied his seed took and she could feel a fat drop of his love leave a warmth against her clit and audibly break against the floor. She knew it. She knew.

"Mount me."

"I can't—"

She pressed her muzzle to the base of his cock and let her tongue roam his balls, lapping that unique Butterscotch taste until it was the only taste she would remember. She never took her eyes off his as she fondled him. He looked down on her. That's how it should be. Lustful, that's how it should be. Terrified...

He opened his mouth. He was going to object again. Applejack wouldn't let him. She slowly dragged her tongue between his balls, nose pressed against his shaft, dragging itself up. She cupped her tongue, tasting as much of the underside of his cock as she could, memorizing every vein.

She raised herself up to suck clean the copious pre leaking from the tip of his cock. Removing her hooves from between his hindlegs, she climbed onto the couch, resting herself on the arm, face down, tail high. This was it. What she needed was coming. There's no way he could resist. No way. None.

And he didn't.

Applejack felt his breath hit her vulva. She winked again and could feel the backsplash bounce off his muzzle. She was so close. So close to release. She felt Butterscotch's tongue slide from the base of her vulva to just below her asshole. Close. Then he ringed around her, cleaning her. She then made a bigger mess. So close. He kept licking, but it wasn't helping. It was just driving her crazy.

"Jus' MOUNT ME ALREADY! RUT ME DEAF, BLIND, AND DUMB!" Her voice was so loud it echoed off the walls. She felt him pull back, the cushions shifting. It needed to happen now. It wasn't happening now. Why wasn't it happening no—

Hooves on her croup, walking up her spine to her back. Cock against her seal. "I—I—I'm going to... to enter n-now."

"It's about ti———IIIEEE!" Applejack's body rocked with an orgasm as Butterscotch inched inside. Throwing herself over the sofa was the right call to make. Butterscotch panted above her, his hooves slipping against her sweaty coat.

"Y-You're tight..."

She could feel his hind hooves depressing the cushion around her, walking forward for stability. He found a better place for his forehooves on her withers, pressing against the shoulderblades. He inched inside again, then withdrew. Tried. Applejack hadn't even felt his ring yet. She wasn't going to let him go.

She contracted, hard, sucking him back in, keeping him in place. "More."

"I don't want to h-hurt y—"

"I'm gonna hurt you if you even think about pullin' out! I want you as deep as you can go!"

She could hear Butterscotch take a deep breath. He gave in, and began inching forward again. It was slow going. Applejack kept involuntarily contracting, arresting his progress. She wished he would just take her. She needed him to take her. But he was a gentlecolt. No, no he wasn't. He was a coward. A gentlecolt would oblige a mare's wishes! He was selfish!

Finally, finally, he bottomed out. Applejack was full. She was home. His cock was home and she never wanted to leave. "N-Now what?"

Applejack groaned. How could he be balls deep and still asking for direction? Her voice came out a growl, close to feral. "RUT. ME. HARD."

"U-Uh, I'll try..." He slid back, no more than an inch, and pushed forward again. Slow. Gentle. Utterly unsatisfying.

"HARDER!"

She didn't notice an increase in pace. He only pulled out further, agonizingly slow.

"HARD! ER!"

Was he going any faster? Did his tickling become strokes? She couldn't tell. She was so close. It was like an apple. Her teeth were sunk in, the flesh crisp and juicy, but she couldn't taste a thing. Nothing. She was close, and that was it.

"Do y'all know what harder means!?"

"I-If I go any faster I'll—!"

Applejack pulled her forehooves up onto the couch and pushed upward, sending her pegasus lover onto his rump. Applejack, on his cock like a sock, was pulled back with him. She put one hoof on the back of the couch to steady herself. She stood, his ring sending shockwaves through her as it exited. She went higher until the tip was in danger of slipping out. Then she sat herself down with force, the springs in the couch creaking, the legs scraping against the hardwood floor as her weight shifted it.

"THIS!"

"A—" SLAM.

"IS!"

"—PP—" SLAM. "—LE—" SLAM. "—JA—" SLAM. "—CK!—"

"HARDER!"

"I—" SLAM. "—I'M—" SLAM. "—CU—" SLAM. "—CU—" SLAM. "—UM—" SLAM.

Overzealous, Applejack let Butterscotch slip out. Hot seed coated her marehood. No. Wrong. It needs to be inside her. She needs his foals. She slams down again, but is misaligned. She hits Butterscotch's pelvis at full force. He grunts in pain. Her barrel is drenched with cum. She grabs hold of it, raising herself again, feverish. He has to finish inside.

She makes him sink in during the penultimate spurt. A warmth swims through her as she bottoms out and his last rope fills her. She can feel it splash against her womb. That sent her over the edge again. She did it. She did it. She had sex with a stallion she loved. He came inside her. She orgasmed. Multiple times.

So why didn't she feel any relief?

Butterscotch softened inside her and receded back into his sheath. She got off him, oblivious to the mess they made on the sheets, and turned to face him. He covered his eyes with his hooves. "Get hard."

His voice was weak, almost a sob, "I can't."

"I ain't done. Get hard."

"Applejack, please stop."

She walked forward, towering over the shaking stallion. She raised one leg and pulled one hoof from his face, then the other, pinning him to the couch. "Get—"

Her voice hitched. Butterscotch was crying. He looked awful. It was her fault.

His voice was inaudible, but she could read his lips. They begged, "Please."

Applejack was frozen in place. Lucidity struck. She had just forced herself on a stallion.

The air in the room got cold. A low and dangerous voice spoke, "Get off of my lover."

Applejack's neck, stiff, kept her from viewing the voice's owner. But she knew who it was. It was—

"Eris, don't hur—" Butterscotch's lips were zipped shut. His sobs muffled.

"Get off of him. And get out."

Applejack couldn't move. Her mind was reeling. She didn't just force herself on a stallion. No, she had forced herself on a taken stallion. Her friend.

"Now."

She leapt from the couch and ran. Ran right into the locked door. She was sent flat on her flanks, pain radiating out from her nose. Before she could get to her legs, the door rotated about its center, the top coming down and punting her outside like a pinball. She rolled through the dirt, caught her hooves, and took off in a gallop towards home.

Chapter 3

Butterscotch curled up beneath the covers on his bed. He had stopped crying a while ago, but did not feel well enough to leave the comfort or protection of his quilt. What happened earlier continued to replay in his mind. Making sense of it.

Her heat was strong. She wasn't acting right. He knew it. Could see it. Smell it. Then he let her in, make her lunch, and told her to clean herself up. Dressed the couch and everything. What was she supposed to expect? And yet, he was angry at her even though he brought this on himself.

It's not as if he didn't want to. He said as much. And it felt good. Even mounted her, willingly. But he was committed. He didn't want to hurt Eris, but to do that, he'd have to hurt Applejack. Now they were all hurting. They hated him. And it was all his fault. Idiot.

He ran upstairs to shower before Eris could get angry at him. A long, hot one. Still couldn't wash out her scent. Still excited him. So he breathed through his mouth. Now he could taste her. He gave up. Just gonna lie here until sleep or death takes him.

A gentle rapping on his door brought him to the present moment. "Would you mind my company?"

Butterscotch nodded his head. More time alone would be much appreciated. He heard Eris open the door anyway, dishes clattering as she floated to his bedside. A warm aroma of cinnamon and ginger sneaked underneath his quilt, the visible trails of steam lifting the hem of the quilt to pet his nose. He emerged from his hiding place to Eris floating above his bed, dressed as a maid, complete with mob cap and white apron that somehow flowed around her.

Held in her claw and paw was a silver-and-ivory platter with legs, a porcelain pot and pair of matching cups resting atop, the set familiar from when Eris hosted their afternoon chats. The steam receded and resumed behaving as steam should, rising from the frothy gold of his and her cups. Golden milk, his favorite.

Butterscotch looked at Eris with furtive eyes, "Y-You shouldn't ha—"

One look from Eris arrested his voice. It was going away for a long time—ten minutes, at least. Five on good behavior. The pair watched the little police-voice haul Butterscotch's voice away before Eris turned to her mute lover.

"You're in no position to tell me how I should worry over you. I run late to one chat and..." She pinched the bridge of her nose with her claw, sighing black smoke, "And that happens. Now, hold still while I check you over." With a twirl, her maid uniform was replaced with surgical gear. Snapping ill-fitting gloves against each wrist, she picked Butterscotch up and moved him in her hands, not letting a single patch escape observation.

Butterscotch noted how gentle her touch was, and how careful she was not to turn him upside-down or shake him, instead snaking her head around his body. Behavior he didn't expect at all. He saw her head phase in between his hind legs and frown, "A bruised pelvis..." She fumed, tickling him with hot smoke, "Only I'm allowed to give you those!"

He blushed and shook, but his nervous giggle didn't come out. Eris smiled at him, "Well, physically, you're almost in the same condition I left you. And if you can laugh at my jokes, you must not be that upset, right?"

He shook his head. She sighed, her costume vanishing in a puff as she tucked him into bed. He nodded in thanks and took a sip of his tea. Perfectly spiced, it brought a small smile to his lips.

She watched him with pity and amusement dancing in her eyes. It looked like the foxtrot. With a snap of her paw, Butterscotch's voice was freed from its cell, leaping with joy back into his throat. Another sip of tea came with a contented, involuntary hum. "Ah, music to my ears!"

Eris patted Butterscotch's withers. He shirked from her touch. She withdrew her paw, frowning, "... Sorry."

Butterscotch looked down into his tea. He didn't want to hurt Eris, but... "No, I... it's... you're not mad at me?"

Eris coiled around Butterscotch, hugging him tight with her body and her embrace, "Of course not. Why would I be mad?"

"I-I cheated on you!"

Eris quirked an eyebrow, "Before you try to explain anything, how about telling me what happened?" She freed her claw from embracing him to drink her tea.

Butterscotch took another sip of his tea, still staring at it. Once he told her what happened, she'd realize what he'd done and be upset. He was sure of it. But Eris wanted to know. And she had a right to know. So, he started from when he heard Applejack yelling outside their home...

"... and that's when I asked you not to hurt us but you—"

"Buh-buh-bup. Hurt us? Why would I hurt you, Butterscotch? I could never do that."

"B-But I cheated on you!"

Eris tightened her loops around Butterscotch and rubbed her nose underneath his chin, "Butters, it's not cheating if you're raped. Heat or not, what she did was wrong."

"But I told her I wanted to—"

"She forced consent."

"But... I g-gave in when she presented—"

"She said she was going to hurt you."

"But, I... oh, promise you won't get mad?"

Eris pecked his forehead, warmth spreading through him, "Nothing you could say right now would make me mad."

"I enjoyed it—"

Eris' full-body squeeze interrupted him, "That's not uncommon, Butters. Don't feel bad—"

"IhaveacrushonApplejack."

"Oh?" Eris blinked, finally realizing the whole situation was his fault. That he had goaded Applejack into raping him. That, even if he was forced, he still cheated on her in his mind.

Butterscotch sighed, awaiting the fall of the axe, "So, a small part of me was really happy when she visited... but I have you, so I couldn't help her. Even though I wanted to. And then..."

"How long have you had a crush on her?" He couldn't read her voice. She must be very upset.

Butterscotch tapped his hooves together, quiet voice almost falling silent by the end. "A long time? Years before I met you. I never really got over it, either." He finished off his cup and smiled as it refilled, "She's so many things that I'm... not. Assertive, dependable, strong. And I really admired her for it." The smile fell. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

"Butters." Eris booped him on the nose.

His snout scrunched. Eris' head came into view, unamused, "You should have told me before! I would've let you, oh, what is it you ponies say? 'Expand the herd'? And then none of this would've happened."

"E-Excuse me?" Butterscotch blinked, "You would have let me... have s-sex with Applejack?"

"Chaos incarnate, Butters." She spins her head around on her neck, a sultry gaze and long eyelashes completed by a pouty lip emerging with the revolution, "I wouldn't turn up a stallion or five, either, if you were so inclined..."

Butterscotch shook his head, in disbelief and dissent, "N-No stallions, thanks. But, Applejack is looking for a special somepony. You'd be okay with even that?"

Eris nods, "As long as she doesn't mind sharing, I don't see a problem with it. Anything to make my little Butt-Butt happy." She pinched his cheeks and waggled them. He giggled, batting away her paw and claw with his hooves.

Then he sighed, "I don't think that's possible now, though. Applejack must hate me. And I'm not happy with her one bit!"

The edge to Butterscotch's voice made Eris uncoil and float beside him, eyebrows wiggling, "You know, I think there's a way we can make everypony—" She gags, "hate that word—happy here. You said Applejack wanted it hard, right?"

Butterscotch nods, unsure.

"If—if—you and I find her apology acceptable, how about you give her exactly what she wants?"

"B-But I'm not—"

"Not into rough stuff?" Eris floats around Butterscotch's head, "I wonder about that~. Don't you want to make Applejack squeal?"

"S-Squeal?" He began to blush. Did he?

"Cry out your name?"

"C-Cry?" Butterscotch's blush grew to the tips of his ears. C-Could he?

"Don't you want to pound into her just what a bad little filly she's been? Tell her how she's going to make it up to you and that she doesn't get a choice? Push her down and make her understand, with every thrust, how you feel?"

Butterscotch's forelegs folded over his quilt, bunching it up to hide his erection, "E-Eris, please... I don't have it in me to..."

"Channel your anger, Butterscotch. Your stress and frustrations. Give all of it to her. She wants it."

Butterscotch whimpered. Being assertive was never his strong suit, and now, Eris wants him to not just be assertive, but aggressive? Violent? To Applejack? But she was so much stronger than him. And scary. He remembered that look in her eye. The way she threw him around like a doll. Used him like one.

"You just need practice. Turn around."

Eris disappeared behind Butterscotch's back. When he turned around, his wings popped open with a squeal and nearly backed off the bed. There, a yellow-and-red-eyed Applejack was presenting to him, her head tucked between her legs, wearing a grin.

"Come on, y'all~ give it to me like a combine harvester! Plow my fields until the flowers bloom~!" Her accent was all wrong.

Butterscotch's heart palpitated, giving him stress giggles, "T-That was awful!"

Erisjack huffs, voice returning to normal, "Well, excuse me for not practicing country-isms. They’re so niche. Now, are you going to come over here and make a mess of me, or not?"

"N-No! Please, change back..."

"Do you want Applejack to be your friend again?"

"I... I think so. But—"

Erisjack turned around, advancing. Butterscotch's rump hung off the edge of the bed, no more room to retreat, "But what, Butters? Are you going to get Solaris to lock her up? Is an apology going to make up for what she did? No. There's only one way forward here, and that's doing to her what she did to you. Eye for an eye. Make it even."

She was uncomfortably close. Butterscotch closed his eyes, "But I don't want to hurt you! Or her, o-or anypony!"

Erisjack booped him, making the stallion go cross-eyed, "It'll hurt her more to lose a friend."

"..." He turned his head away and looked down. He wanted to argue, to tell Eris that she was wrong, but she was right. He didn't know if being rough with Applejack would fix things, but it was better than letting their friendship fallow, getting the guard involved, or pretending an apology would work. Words wouldn't take back what she did.

He forced himself to meet Erisjack's eyes. They were sympathetic, "I-Is that really okay, if I'm rough? Are you fine with that?"

"Chaos incarnate, Butterscotch! I've done and had done to me things far, far beyond your imagination. You should ask Prince Solaris about Ohio sometime~."

Butterscotch's blush traveled down his neck, "I-I'll pass. Okay, I'll try being rough. I really don't know about this, though..."

Erisjack hummed a happy tune as she pranced back to the head of the bed, bending down on her knees and flicking her tail back and forth, spreading that spiced apple scent Butterscotch felt so conflicted about, "Take your time, Butters. I know I'm asking a lot from you."

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It helped him stay in the mood.

He had to be assertive. Aggressive! He thought about everything that made him angry. Eris playing scary pranks on him. Ponies cutting in front of him in line because they didn't see him. Every time Berry Pie or the Cutie Mark Crusaders broke something he owned. Applejack...

He snorted, hooves stomping the bed with two squeaks. A sour taste filled his mouth. He furrowed his brow and marched forward. He didn't even ask permission from Erisjack to mount her! "I-I'm going to h-have sex... with you..."

He couldn't see her face, but the sigh said it all, "Tell me you're going to rut me into the floor, Butters."

"I-I'm going to rut you into t-t-the floor, Eris!"

"I'm Applejack, remember?"

"Applejack, I'm going to ruh-r-rut y-you—"

"Try it without a stutter, Butters. Hehe, Stuttersco—"

That old name lit a fire. His hooves came down on her flanks with a snap, making them jiggle, "Be quiet!"

"Oooh~ that's it, Butters! Now, shove it in, all at once~."

Butterscotch reared back, then stopped. He had to be aggressive. Was letting Eri—Applejack boss him around being aggressive? Applejack didn't listen to him. He had to take this into his own hooves. "Y-You don't tell me what to do."

Erisjack chuckled, "Now you're getting it."

He smiled to himself, a victory. He lined himself up with Erisjack and pressed into her, slipping inside easily. "Uh..."

"Hm? Something wrong, Butters? Are you paralyzed with pleasure~?"

"Applejack was... tighter."

"Hmph." Butterscotch felt Applejack strangle his cock.

He gasped, falling onto her back to stabilize himself, "Too tight! I'm sorry! Too tight!"

"So picky~. But, fine, how about... now?"

No longer in a chokehold, he still found it difficult to move. The contractions ringing him resisted his wary thrust forward, "T-That's perfect. Just like her. Oooh..."

After gentle prodding, he found his rhythm. It was rare for Eris to be on the bottom. Something about that excited him, throbbing in his chest and cock. The sight of her back, tracing the dip of her spine, how easy and natural it felt for him to grope her thick flanks. Like this was how it was meant to be.

Eris rewarded his efforts with winks, each one giving pleasure as it rubbed against his length, giving his balls an occasional kiss.

"You call this rough, Butters? I'm about to fall asleep up here." An eye mask and night cap appeared on Erisjack's head, her forelegs kneeling so she could rest against the pillows, "Wake me up when you're done."

Butterscotch frowned, "I-I'm trying. I'm not used to this..."

Erisjack began snoring.

Butterscotch thrusted harder, gentle slapping filling the air as his ring passed her sucking lips and his balls swung forward to tap against her teats, stiff nipples denting his flesh in a peculiar, satisfying way.

Erisjack snored louder.

Butterscotch paced his breathing. Harder, longer thrusts, each hilt sounding out with a wet smack. It was difficult to stay upright. His hips began to ache. It was demanding work.

As if to mock him—no, definitely to mock him—a trail of Z's floated above Erisjack's head and her snoring drowned out the sounds of sex. A large snot bubble grew from one of her nostrils.

Butterscotch's frown turned into a scowl, "Y-You asked for it." He laid down atop her, forelegs wrapped around her barrel, and began pounding. He nipped the back of her neck, keeping her reined in.

With Erisjack supporting his weight, he was able to focus on putting power and speed into rutting his shapeshifted marefriend. The snot-bubble popped, creaking bedsprings and a banging headboard joining the symphony of rough love Butterscotch conducted. The Z's dissipated, and Erisjack lifted the mask from her eyes with a blushing grin, looking back at him, "I'm feelin' it now, Butters. But, can you make me cum? You look like you're about to—"

The stallion shoved a hoof against the back of her head, forcing Erisjack to breath through pillows. He grunted through gritted teeth, "Be quiet. I'm trying to c-concentrate!"

She tightened hard, making Butterscotch put everything he had into his hips. His mouth hung open, panting, eyes screwed shut. She was winking like crazy. She had to be close. Just hold out, Butterscotch. One more thrust. Another. Another. Focus on the next thrust. Oh, Solaris, why was she getting so tight? It hurt. Hurt good, but hurt.

A tension built in Butterscotch's stomach. He felt his balls tighten, a fat lump of his seed passing through his cock and bringing him over the edge. At the same time, Erisjack sucked him in, making it impossible to pull out, and soaked the sheets with a splash, then another. Butterscotch cried out, load after load emptying into his childhood crush, until it poured out, making the sheets even messier, more sticky. He collapsed on top of her.

As his cock softened and sheathed, he realized he was keeping Erisjack's face buried in the pillows. He retracted his hoof and sputtered, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

Erisjack removed her head from the pillows, giddy, and sighed. She flopped about to face Butterscotch, eyes wide and love-drunk. She kissed her stallion.

"Mmmmm. Shhh. That was great, Butters. You did great." She shimmied closer and wrapped her hooves around Butterscotch, nuzzling the larger stallion's neck.

Butterscotch couldn't be more embarrassed. His ears folded and tail tucked between his legs, brushing against his growing erection. "T-Thank you, Applejack."

A paw covered his flare, twisting around it. He gasped. "Applejack's had enough of you for one night, stud. It's my turn." Eris was back, and she was not satisfied.

Butterscotch gulped, "I-I don't have to be aggressive again, do I?"

Eris chuckled, "Not unless you want to, Butters, but you look worn out. Let Eris do the moving~."

He breathed easy, "Thank goodness. That was exhausting."

She coiled around her stallion, claw toying with the base of his wings. Butterscotch moaned. He'd hardly come down from his climax and Eris was already building another one, "I must say, though, that was a good show. I wasn't expecting asphyxiation~."

Butterscotch spoke between gasps, "I didn't mean to! It just sort of happened. You're not hurt, are you?"

"The pain is what made it feel so good, Butters~. I'm going to have to get you to do that to me again sometime."

"Eep."

Eris kissed him, her pointed tongue knocking on his lips. He greeted her at the door, meeting like long-lost lovers. She ran her paw down the shaft, slick with his cum and her orgasm. He moaned into her mouth.

She pulled away from the kiss despite his best efforts to keep her, "But I love you best when you're my cute little colt." Her claw pinched the base of a wing. It felt on fire, the entire wing tingling as if her claw was running down the ligament. "My gentle, loving stallion."

He gazed up at her with pleading eyes. He was glad to see her smile, releasing his cock from her paw. She cupped his head with both hands and drew him into another kiss, her body shifting around him to bring her entrance to his cock. She worked him in over long, maddening minutes. He couldn't avoid noticing that she'd tightened up. Not as tight as Applejack, but tight.

His pleasure was in her hands. Every time he was close, Eris slowed down, broke the kiss, or shifted her body to a different angle. All he could do was whimper when she denied him, although he knew that wouldn't convince her to let him climax. It only drove the twisting, wringing teasing to new heights, until finally, he was begging her to let him cum.

It was no different this time. "Eris, please! No more!"

"Hmmm? No more what, Butters?" She gave him a coy, oblivious look when she well knew what no more meant.

He whined, "L-Let me cum! Inside you, please! I can't take it anymore, I need to. Please."

She picked up her pace, her head still as her body pistoned up and down on him, "You're not supposed to say where until I ask, Butters~. But, you have had a long day. I'll allow it just this once."

She cupped his snout with her claw and pulled it against her lips. He felt the tension again, the climax rising through him, and a swift release. It wasn't messy like the others, but it was longer, and powerful. Well after he was spent, he still felt like he was floating. It wasn't until Eris broke the kiss that he came down from the high.

Eris nuzzled the top of his head, "Want to go see Applejack tomorrow?"

Butterscotch drew heavy breaths, his stomach rising and falling like he just came first in The Running of the Leaves. He spoke between pants, "I do. I hope she'll see me..."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll drag her out if need be."

"Eris!"

She booped him. "You, Butt-Butt, need more training. And a shower. We're filthy, and I am not letting you dry in my fur."

"Can't you just use your magic to make us clean?"

"But the third round is always in the shower!"

He huffed, "You're insatiable."

"You love it~." She kissed him with another teasing grin. Like clockwork, with a kiss came an erection.

He groaned in pain, "Let me rest, please. At least half an hour."

"I'll give you ten minutes. Juice?"

"... Okay. Yes, please."

An orange appeared in Eris' claw. She punctured it with her solitary fang, and held the new hole up to Butterscotch's lips. The citrus fruit's juice seemed to never end, delicious and cold. When finished, he felt invigorated. Eris ate the orange whole and cuddled up against her stallion.

"I love you, Butters."

"Y-You too."

Eris played with his mane with her claw, scratching his scalp in all the right places. Butterscotch sighed, snuggling in close, resting his head on her rising and falling chest, watching the sun set outside.

He hoped he would be able to go through with this. That he'd have the energy and emotion. His outburst earlier already left him feeling drained. He didn't think he'd have anything left for Applejack by tomorrow if Eris kept this up.

At least the cuddles felt nice.

Chapter 4

Rainbow Dash napped in a cloud over Butterscotch's cottage. She'd been chilling since luring Applejack to her heart's desire, but succumbed to the cumulus' comfort soon after her friends hid away in the cottage. She had been proud of herself; she won a race and was able to help a friend out at the same time. Dang, she's good.

Sweet dreams of finding the fountain of eternal cider hidden away in Applejack's orchard evaporated before the first drop could reach her tongue thanks to a loud thump. Dash stretched and rolled over with a grin, looking down to see how good of a job she did.

She saw Applejack roll through the dirt and break into a dead sprint. Her grin fell. That didn't seem right.

With a flap of her wings, she descended from her cloud and tailed Applejack. Closing the distance let her see what a mess Applejack was. Covered hindquarters, glistening with sweat, tears beading in the wind she tore through. This wasn't right at all.

Dash dipped down, long grass parting in her wake alongside the dirt path Applejack hurtled down. She yelled at the farmer, "What happened?"

Applejack lowered her head and sped up, something Rainbow Dash hardly thought possible. Keeping pace, she tried again, "Why are you crying, AJ? Was he that bad a lay?"

"Shut up an' go away!"

"Not until you tell me what the hay is going on!"

"No!"

"Then I'll have to make you!" Rainbow Dash pushed herself up at an angle with a powerful beat of her wings, bringing her over Applejack. She strained a hoof and nabbed the mare's signature stetson, whooping in victory as she held it high.

But Applejack kept running. She didn't even slow down. Now Dash knew it was bad. She donned the hat and gave chase.

Dash's needling was fruitless. Applejack said nothing for the remainder of her marathon home.

Rainbow Dash peeled away, watching from a low altitude above the farm. Applejack ran up to her home and slammed the front door behind her. Flummoxed, Dash brought a small cloud with her and camped above Applejack's bedroom window, ears perked. She heard faint shouting, Applejack's door being bucked shut, and the metallic crunch of springs followed by whole-body sobbing.

Rainbow Dash wilted. She expected Applejack to spend the night, or at least walk out of Butterscotch's cottage jelly-legged and dizzy. Not... this. She waited and listened.

Somepony knocked. Applejack threw her nightstand lamp at the door, the bulb breaking with a loud pop and the brass base denting the wood, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The door pony's reply was too muffled to hear. Applejack screamed at the door, and that was that. Her sobbing soon resumed.

Rainbow Dash bit her hoof. What was she supposed to do? What could she do? She was alone, here, and Applejack needed her right now. Turning around to get somepony wasn't an option. She poked her head through the cloud, looking through the window.

Applejack was lying belly-down on her bed, buried in a mess of pillows and blankets. She wouldn't notice if Rainbow Dash opened the window and flew inside.

That's what Dash decided to do. She entered, careful to be quiet. The smell was immense. She couldn't fly like this, her wings weren't cooperating. She lighted down and crept towards Applejack's bed. By Solaris, the stench. Thick enough to taste. Tasted good. Soarin was going to be busy tonight.

She held her breath and reached a hoof out to stroke Applejack on the withers, but paused. Was this the right approach? Would Applejack buck her out the window?

A shuddering heave knocked doubt from her mind. She spoke softly, stroking Applejack, "Buddy?"

Applejack swung her head up to yell at whoever invaded her sanctuary. Dash retreated when she saw Applejack's face. Ugly crying and pure disgust. Dash didn't feel that the disgust was directed at her.

Applejack's yell died when she saw Rainbow Dash. She looked away, "I ain't nopony's buddy. Get out." Her voice was raw.

It was hard to look at Applejack. Rainbow Dash looked around the room, working up the courage to face her. She couldn't. She took off Applejack's hat, setting on the cleared nightstand, "AJ, what the hay happened? I've never seen you like this."

"What... I'll tell you what the hay happened. Butterscotch said no."

Dash sighed in relief. That could have been so much worse. It's just heartbreak. Applejack was hit hard by it, but Rainbow Dash was sure she'd be able to bring her friend out of her funk. Maybe not before her estrous was over, but in due time, "It happens, AJ. Everypony—"

"No, it don't happen. It don't happen to everypony." Applejack buried her face in her bed.

Dash rubbed the back of her neck, putting on a smile, "Rejection isn't the end of the world, AJ."

Applejack's reply was too muffled to hear.

"Say that again? I couldn't hear—"

Applejack pulled her head out and stared down Rainbow Dash, "I said, rejection ain't, but what I did is."

"What you did?" When Applejack didn't reply, Rainbow Dash looked her friend over. Applejack swung her hindquarters around. It was slick with more than her. Semen matted the fur on her rump, dried from the run.

Dash cocked her head, "But I thought you said he said—"

"I did."

Dash pointed a hoof, "So how did that get..." She froze.

Applejack rammed herself beneath the pile on her bed.

Rainbow Dash's stomach lurched into her throat, "AJ, you didn't."

The pile didn't respond.

"Please, please tell me you didn't."

No response.

Her voice cracked, "What in Equestria were you thinking!? Don't you know that's a crime?! This is some sick joke, right? You wouldn't actually—"

"Go away."

Dash hopped onto the bed, shaking the pile, "AJ, you need to tell me this is a—"

A pair of hooves thumped her in the chest. Her arc ended at the window, the back of her head cracking against the sill. "GO AWAY!"

Dash doubled up in pain. When she was able to see again, it was Applejack stomping towards her. Dash grunted, getting to her hooves. She opened and climbed out the window, pulling herself through her pain onto the cloud. She heard Applejack slam the window shut, breaking the glass. Dash didn't stick around to see the damage.

She held her head in her hooves and blinked away tears, using the cloud to support herself as she flew away from Sweet Apple Acres. She pulled a hoof away. No blood. Good. Nothing else was good but that.

This was so beyond Applejack that Dash refused to accept it. That wasn't her. She'd never hurt a friend, not like that. Not ever. Something else was going on. Had to be. Needed to be. Her mind raced with possibilities. Magic? She didn't seem enchanted. Was it changelings? Some sort of artifact? She shook her head and regretted it. No, neither of those.

Eris? Zecora?

It was Eris or Zecora.

Zecora first. Then Eris. She'd need the rest of her friends for Eris. Zecora, she could handle on her own, and handle fast. She angled her cloud for the Everfree Forest and flew.

* * *

Zecora's hut was difficult to distinguish from the air. It never seemed to stay in one place, either. Thankfully, Zecora was always brewing something, drifting gray smoke against the afternoon sky singling her home out in the canopy.

Rainbow Dash parked her cloud upwind and flew down, the canopy casting her in darkness once she emerged on the underside. She touched down in front of Zecora's door and knocked. The zebra took her time answering, "Rainbow Dash, welcome to my home. Strange for you, though, to come alone."

Dash walked into Zecora with a huff, forcing the zebra back inside, "Yeah, well, I wouldn't be here if I didn't need to be. I need to know what the heck you gave Applejack."

Zecora glanced away, ears twitching, "I-I gave her what I always do. Privacy makes it a secret to you."

"No, no! Your stuff always works. It's worked for Applejack for years! So you must be doing something different and it's screwing her up!"

"I offered alternatives that she could use, but her misplaced pride made her refuse!"

Rainbow Dash got muzzle-to-muzzle with the zebra, pushing her closer to the hot cauldron, "You're avoiding me! What. Did. You. Give. Her!?"

"As I have said, that is a private matter. My reputation will not tolerate blabber!"

"Your reputation won't tolerate makin' Applejack so friggin' crazy that she forced herself onto a stallion!" She glared at Zecora.

Zecora opened her mouth in shock. Her gaze flitted away from Rainbow Dash's glare.

"So you did do it!" Rainbow Dash backed away, scrunching and scowling.

Zecora hung her head, ears folding, "What I gave her did make it worse. But, if I did not, my fortunes would reverse!"

Rainbow Dash looked Zecora up and down. The much taller zebra made herself seem small, shrinking before the pegasus. She didn't seem like she was lying... "Somepony forced you to do it? But who would even want to do that to Applejack!? Was it Strawberry Sunrise? WAS IT ERIS?!" She flew up and shook Zecora by the withers.

Zecora's voice rattled with the shaking "It was a mare dear to her heart. Granny Smith made the troubles start!" Rainbow Dash blinked, then cocked her head, trying to make sense of it. Her shaking came to a stop.

Zecora continued, "She demanded I make Applejack bear foals, or else she would roast me over hot coals. Despite being an age far beyond old, her language and tone made my blood run cold. And to hear what I have helped to occur..." She blinked away tears, "It makes my skin crawl under my fur."

Rainbow Dash backed away to a comfortable distance, "We'll worry about that later! Right now, Applejack's a mess. We need to get her real medicine! Then, then we can explain what happened to Butterscotch and Applejack, kick Granny Smith's butt, then everything will be back to normal!" Applejack was going to be so relieved. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault.

Zecora frowned, "I'm afraid she's too far gone. Applejack had the dosage wrong. She told me earlier she took enough for three days. It will take more than medicine for that to go away."

"Then we'll just... argh, we'll do something! Grab any medicine you can, get your saddlebags. We're going to Ponyville!"

"I cannot leave this close to night. The Everfree Forest is dangerous without light. I will make you some medicine, so you may go ahead; I will visit tomorrow instead."

Zecora walked to a hanging bushel of drying black leaves, biting down and tearing them from their rope. At her work station, she dumped them into a large mortar and began to grind the leaves down with a pestle in her mouth, mixing in colorful dusts and grains from marble and iron jars on the shelf, "Grab that pot and scoop me some brew; this sleeping potion will see Applejack through."

Rainbow Dash bit the pot's handle and craned her neck over the boiling water-filled cauldron, her bangs sticking to her forehead with the moisture. She passed the pot off to Zecora. Zecora tilted the pot enough for a small stream of steaming water to pour out. She tapped the counter thrice with her hoof and stopped pouring, resting the pot on a cork cozy, "All that's left is to bottle my concoction. I shall wrap it and lend you my bags as precaution. In a minute you'll be on your way. And tell Applejack... I’ll apologize some day."

Rainbow Dash nods, "You got it. Still, it's hard to believe that Granny Smith would do something like this to her own grandfilly..."

Zecora falls silent. Dash is left impatiently hopping from hoof to hoof. "You wouldn't happen to have any estrous medicine lying around, would you? Applejack's was super strong and..."

"On the counter, by the door. Two bits for one vial and take not a drop more."

"Thanks."

* * *

"Drink this."

Rainbow Dash's voice was muffled by a cloud she was using to block her muzzle. She had Zecora's saddlebag opened, a cloth-wrapped vial poking out. Applejack continued to stare at the wall. A loud buzzing came from beneath her covers.

"If it ain't poison, I don't want it."

"Don't say that!" Rainbow Dash braced against the bed's edge, a hoof outstretched to pat Applejack's barrel, "Look, we're gonna fix everything tomorrow, okay? But you need to get some sleep. I got some medicine from, uh, Nurse Redheart! It's supposed to help you get to sleep." She smiled.

Applejack kept staring at the wall. "Is it gonna put me to sleep for good?"

Dash shook her, "Stop talking like that! Just... take your medicine! Here, I'll even help you drink it. Okay?" She dipped her head into the saddlebag, pulling the vial out. Some deft tonguework popped the cork, "Please? For me?"

Applejack snorted. She rolled onto her back and opened her mouth. Rainbow Dash was glad that it was dark. She didn't want to see how much worse Applejack was. Rainbow Dash tilted her head and poured the draught into Applejack's mouth. Applejack smacked her lips and gagged, "Holy cow, that stuff's more bitter’n turnips gone to seed!"

"Yeah, uh... Redheart said something about sugar? I flew over here fast as I could, haha. I should've picked something up for you, sorry."

"Nah... z'fine..." Applejack was already nodding off. She fumbled her hooves underneath her covers. The buzzing noise stopped.

Rainbow Dash sighed with relief, "That stuff works fast. Thank Solaris I don't have to 'tuck you in'." The implication sent a shiver through her.

With Applejack sawing logs, Rainbow Dash flew through the broken window, sneezing out the clouds. Time for a well-deserved rest.

Chapter 5

Applejack woke up feeling filthy. Scum covered her teeth and tongue, dried cum matted fur from her belly down to her teats and most of her rump and thighs, the crust scraping her sheets as she pulled them aside to climb out of bed. Mr. Fuji, a meaty pink facsimile of stallionhood, slipped out sometime during the night and had to be peeled from the bed with a firm hoof. He needed to be washed. She needed to be washed and get some relief. She picked him up in her mouth, used to her own taste at this point, and stepped over the lamp and broken glass to exit her room.

She opened her door to Big Gala, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith standing in the hallway outside Applejack froze. Big Gala covered Apple Bloom's eyes with a hoof and fetlock, but she was too late.

"What's that in your mouth?"

Granny Smith "I'll tell ya when ya get yer first heat, Apple Bloom. Fer now, jus' ferget ya saw anythin'. Big Gala, would ya mind givin' us some privacy?"

Big Gala nodded, nipping Apple Bloom by the back of her neck and turning around, carrying the curious filly away. "Awwww..."

Granny Smith sighed, "Well, that coulda gone better. We was s'posed ta be showin' support all-together like a family, but I think ya got the message."

"Ghaa, a—"

Granny Smith clicked her tongue, "Don't talk with yer mouth full!"

Applejack spit Mr. Fuji out. He hit the floor with his power switch, flopping and vibrating in circles on the old wooden boards. Tartarus take me already, Applejack thought. She hoofed it off.

"Now, who's the stallion that made my little filly cry? When I find him I'll—"

Applejack hung her head, "I don't wanna talk about it, Granny." She rolled the dildo back towards her, "I jus' wanna shower an' go back to bed."

Granny Smith closed the distance, thumping the floor with her walker, "All I need's his name, Applejack, and I swear by Solaris I'll—"

"Whatever you're thinking happened, didn't. Yes, it was a stallion, no, it wasn't his fault, an' I sure as hay ain't gonna talk about it. Jus' let me be..."

Granny Smith pursed her shriveled lips, squinting at Applejack. Applejack always felt like a foal beneath her gaze. But today, she was already at her lowest. Granny Smith wasn't going to get anything from her.

She'd barely woken up and she'd already humiliated herself to the only ponies left in the world that would still talk to her after what she did, and the first thing she did was show off her dildo to them. Now she had nopony she could look in the face.

Granny Smith nuzzled Applejack nose to nose, "Alright, dear, if'n yer sure ya don't wanna talk about it, ya don't hafta. But when ya do wanna talk about it, jus' gimme a shout, alright?"

Applejack nodded without heart. She didn't think she'd ever want to. She just wanted to wash yesterday down the drain and maybe see if she could join it. But she's too big a pile of garbage to flush away.

Granny Smith turned away and made for the stairs down to the first floor, "An' that offer is still on the table, Applejack! Jus' a name, all I need's a name..."

Applejack didn't reply. She picked Mr. Fuji back up in her mouth and trotted to the bathroom down the hall, started a hot shower, laid down, and cried.

Her thoughts were flooded by Butterscotch crying, begging for her to stop. How his eyes shrank and body trembled in fear and confusion when she pressed him against the wall. How she felt his shivers when he mounted her, as if he was seconds from a heart attack. And how she ignored everything in pursuit of her own pleasure.

How could she do that to him?

How?

She turned Mr. Fuji to his max setting and shoved him inside, whining in pain. She forced him to the hilt and sat up, the faux-ballsack base all that was keeping him from being lost inside of her. The mechanical stimulation didn't cool her off at all. Every orgasm just made it worse. She gave up after an hour and a forgotten number of climaxes when the water began to chill. The semen felt impossible to scrub out, but she managed. Her coat was thinner and the drain was clogged by the time she was done.

She didn't feel any cleaner after drying off. She slinked back to her room, prepared to go back to bed and abuse Mr. Fuji until he ran out of power. Instead, she was greeted by Rainbow Dash lounging on a cloud outside of her window. Again, she had a cloud covering her nose. She beamed at Applejack.

"Heeeeey, AJ! 'Bout time you—" Dash stared at Mr. Fuji. Her jaw worked, but no sound came. Applejack could read her mouthing 'big'.

"I don't know what you're here for, Dash, but I jus' wanna be left alone today. Okay?"

"Nu-uh, this is super important. You have to come with me!"

"Why can't y'all use the front door like normal folk?"

Dash glanced away, "Uhh... reasons. Reasons you'll learn after we get going. C'mon!"

"Dash, I ain't leavin' this here room." Applejack hopped up on her bed and got beneath her covers.

"But—But I'm gonna clear this whole thing up! Everything will go back to normal!"

"Nothin's gonna be normal anymore, Dash. I messed up. I messed up real bad."

Dash trotted beside the bed, "But it's not your fault!"

"What?"

"It's true! But I won't tell you until you agree to come with me."

Applejack turned her back to Rainbow Dash and faced the wall, "Guess you ain't tellin' me then."

"But AJ! It'll fix everything! I have proof you're not a bad pony!"

"Is it gonna un-rape Butterscotch?"

Applejack didn't hear a response. Just sputtering. She grimaced. Rainbow Dash was trying to help, but she was helping the wrong pony. Butterscotch is the one she should labor attention to, not Applejack.

Applejack felt the bed behind her compress and Rainbow Dash's voice get closer, "It'll make you friends again. I promise."

"Y'all can't go an' promise that."

"I PIE-promise."

Applejack turned around, "Dash, you can't just go an'—"

Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof from the bed, miming as she recited the oath, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Applejack bit her lip, looking around the room. Berry Pie could be anywhere now. Outside her door, climbing through the window, or even—

"The contract has been sealed." Berry Pie emerged from beneath Applejack's covers opposite her head and droned with a solemn voice.

The mares screamed, "Berry!"

"Hiya, Rainbow Dash, Applejack! What're we pie-promising about?" He crawled out from beneath the sheets and sat on the end of the bed, looking around the room, "What a mess! Applejack, you really need to clean up in here. This glass is dangerous!"

He bounced off the bed and around the room, a whirlwind of pink hyperactivity somehow setting everything right rather than setting everything wrong. The lamp was back on the nightstand with a new bulb, the window replaced, and Applejack's sheets cleaned.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared at Berry Pie as he swaddled himself in Applejack's dirty sheets, "Mmmm, apple pie!"

"GET OUTTA MY ROOM!" Applejack threw the lamp at the stallion, breaking the bulb once again as it sailed through his curled mane and hit the floor behind him.

"Whoop! See ya later, taters!" He bounced through the bedroom door and, after repairing the hole he left, out of sight.

Somehow, the lamp was fixed again, too.

Applejack buried her face in her hooves. Rainbow Dash took it in stride, "See? Pie-promised. You have to come with me, now!"

Applejack groaned, "Fine, I'll follow ya! Jus' get out of my room already!"

Applejack lifted her head to see Rainbow Dash smile at her. Dash then went to the window, opened it up, and kicked her cloud back into the sky before flying down to the ground below.

Applejack, wingless, had to take the stairs. She walked down them and down the hallway to the front door, pausing at the open entrance to the dining room. Berry Pie was in her seat, eating what she presumed to be her cold breakfast. She sighed and trotted on to the front door.

Outside, Applejack saw Rainbow Dash and Zecora. The pegasus gave Applejack a confident smile, while the zebra's was nervous. She quirked an eyebrow, "Zecora? What're ya doin' out here?"

"I'll explain when we get there! Saves me a lot of trouble." Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and flew off at a brisk pace, "C'mon, follow me!"

Zecora walked alongside Applejack, hanging back enough that Applejack couldn't see her face, "I apologize for the disturbance on behalf of Rainbow Dash. We both know how she acts so brash."

"I'm used to it by now. I jus' don't get why she'd make a Pie-Promise that's so obviously not gonna work." Applejack snorted, "Well, whatever. I'm sure she has a good reason to drag you into this, too, at least according to her."

Zecora remained silent. The trip takes the three to Butterscotch's cottage. Every hoofstep grew heavier for Applejack until she was rooted in place after crossing the small bridge over the stream a hop away from Butterscotch's front door. The animals were out and busy, until Applejack showed up. They scurried away in her wake. She frowned, "Dash, are you gonna explain to me anythin' yet?"

Rainbow Dash flew ahead, "Hold on, I gotta get Butterscotch. When he's here, I'll start." She knocks on the door.

Applejack muttereds under her breath, "Still don't see how anythin' you could say would make us friends again. Butterscotch hates me." She turned around and stepped onto the bridge.

Zecora put a hoof on the farmer's withers, "Wait, Applejack, do not leave! Have faith! Believe! Rainbow Dash is working hard for you. Couldn't you, for her, see it through?"

Applejack paused. She weighed her options. Either way, Butterscotch was going to hate her. That was certain, pie-promise or not. She figured she should apologize, at the least. It won't take away the pain of what she did, but she may shoulder a little less weight.

Rainbow Dash banged on the front door, "BUTTERSCOTCH! APPLEJACK WANTS TO SEE YOU!"

She didn't. She absolutely did not want to see Butterscotch. It was too soon, the wounds had no time to heal. If she saw him now, all she'd see is yesterday. All he'd see would be a monster. One of his best friends that turned into a monster.

Applejack looked over her shoulder, "Dash, on second thought, let's—"

The door cracked open, Butterscotch's head poking out, "U-Uhm... y-yes, Rainbow Dash? You said... Applejack is here?"

"She's right he—Applejack!" Rainbow Dash turned her head, yelling at the mare on the bridge, "Get over here! I don't want to have to shout."

Applejack stood still. She looked at Butterscotch. The stallion squeaked and hid behind the door. That was it. That was what she didn't want to see. Butterscotch is terrified of her. They can't be friends anymore. It's over.

Rainbow Dash stepped to the side, peering past the ajar door, "Butterscotch, relax. I've got Zecora with me. Applejack promises she won't do anything, either. So please, Butterscotch, just let me say my piece."

Zecora urged Applejack forward. Wooden steps took her up the grassy slope, her body not her own. She couldn't think anything. Feel anything. It's as if she was disconnected, a recessed observer trapped inside, banging against the glass and begging for control that she couldn't have. The body came to a stop an awkward distance from the front door. Zecora stood off to her side.

"You can stay behind the door if you want to, Butterscotch. Just keep it open." Rainbow Dash stepped off the landing, equidistant between Applejack and Butterscotch. Butterscotch's head poked out from the door, eyes flitting between Applejack and Dash. He looked scared, anxious, on the brink of a panic attack.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, wings settling into a more comfortable position, "Uh... dang, I should've prepared a speech. The long and short of it is, what happened yesterday wasn't Applejack's fault. Normally, a mare in heat is still at fault, but Applejack's heat wasn't normal." Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof towards Zecora, "And that's because, when she went to Zecora for medicine, Zecora didn't give her medicine to treat heat, she gave her medicine that ENHANCES heat!"

Zecora took a step back, shame plain on her face, “My medicine hurting ponies has always been my greatest fear. And though what I did cannot be excused, my apology is most sincere.” She bowed to Applejack.

Applejack screamed internally. Her body refused to comply. Butterscotch seemed equally distanced from the conversation.

Rainbow Dash took Applejack’s and Butterscotch’s silence as encouragement, putting spit in her words as she continued, "But! Zecora didn't do this as some sort of mean-spirited prank, or as revenge against past wrongs! No, she was FORCED to! And the name of the mare that forced her to may shock you... no, WILL shock you. It was none other than Granny Smith!"

The silence persisted. Granny Smith was behind Zecora's medicine not working? Applejack knew something was wrong, but this was information she was unable to process. Family didn't treat family like this. It just wasn't done.

Applejack swiveled her eyes. Zecora looked ashamed. She swiveled her eyes again, locking with Butterscotch's. The stallion deflated on contact. He didn't look away. He looked wary. Expectant? Like his breath hung on what she had to say.

Rainbow Dash looked back and forth between the groups, waiting for a response. She got none, so she flapped her wings and said, "... Which means everything's okay! It's not Applejack's fault, it's Granny Smith's fault! So let's put this behind us and—"

"No, it's my fault." Applejack's words bypassed her mind and came directly from her mouth. Rainbow Dash stared at her.

"AJ, it's not. Didn't you hear me? It's GRANNY SMITH'S fault. Not yours. She made this mess! All of the blame's on her! So there's nothing keeping you from being friends with Butterscotch. Right, 'Scotch?"

Butterscotch didn't break away from Applejack's eyes. She hadn't broken away, either. Her mouth began to move on its own again, "I knew what I was doing, Dash."

"You were drugged! D-R-U-G-G-E-D! Do you know what drugged means?"

Applejack could see Rainbow Dash making wild gestures in the periphery of her vision, but kept looking at Butterscotch, "Does it mean Granny Smith made me do it?"

The pegasus wilted, "Kinda...?"

"So that means Zecora made me do it, too?"

"I mean..."

Applejack took a step forward, "An' you made me do it, because you took me straight to Butterscotch's home."

Dash kneeled, "I—"

Applejack took another step, and another, walking past Rainbow Dash to the cottage door, "Are you gonna tell me that Butterscotch, being a good friend by letting me into his home, feeding me, and letting me clean myself up after an awful day—"

"It's not the same!"

"How?" Applejack turned her head to look at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash snorted, flaring her wings. She stood up, thrusting her head at Applejack, "It—It just isn't, okay? Stop making this so difficult! It's not your fault, so just go back to being friends already!"

Applejack turned back to Butterscotch, "We can't be friends anymore. Not after what I did." She was a few hooves from the door. Butterscotch stood up, shuffling further out of sight. She heard whispers behind it, but the solid construction of the door muffled them.

Applejack felt tears well up. She blinked through them, but her vision didn't clear, "I knew what I was doing an' I did it anyway. I can't shift the blame onto somepony else."

Her voice shook, "An' I ain't got a clue how to apologize for what I did. I truly don't. I don't know the pain I caused you, Butterscotch. I can't even imagine it. So how am I supposed to apologize?" She watched her tears fall to the ground, voice a whisper, "I'm sorry. I—I should go."

"Sorry?" The edge in Butterscotch's voice made her head snap up. She dried her eyes with a fetlock. He poked his head around the door, eye-to-eye with Applejack. He was glaring.

"That's all you have to say?" His voice wasn't loud, but it didn't have to be.

She opened her mouth to reply, but he shoved open the door, making her step back with a yelp. He stepped forward, pushing Applejack back with his words, "You think it's going to be that easy? Show up, feel sorry for yourself, decide everything for yourself?"

Applejack shook her head. She heard Rainbow Dash flap her wings, putting herself between Butterscotch and Applejack, "She's not doing any of that! She's trying to apol—!"

"Shut up." Butterscotch brushed the smaller pegasus aside with a hoof, surprising Applejack and, by the stunned look on her face, Rainbow Dash as well. He never stopped glaring at Applejack, "You have the guts to show your face, tell me what's going to happen to our friendship, tell me you don't know how to apologize, then expect to trot on home without letting me have my say?"

Applejack cowered, barrel scraping dirt as she backpedaled, "I-I thought th—"

Zecora scampered past to Rainbow Dash's side, out of Butterscotch's warpath. He raised his voice, making Applejack's ears pin back. It felt like he was screaming, "So you think for me, now? You speak for me? You sure do enjoy deciding what I think, what I feel, what I want for somepony that's supposed to be apologizing!"

Applejack's rear ran into the railing of the bridge. She flinched at the contact, her sensitive nethers thrusting her forward between Butterscotch's legs. He didn't move. She tried to keep her eyes closed. But she couldn't; he was on full display, and was too angry to shield himself. Applejack's stomach knotted and flipped. She hated herself for cherishing the view.

"Here's what's going to happen. You're going to be quiet, Applejack, and I'm going to tell you what I think, what I feel, and what I want. It's going to be a private conversation. Everypony else here is going to leave." He shifted his legs, turning halfway around, "Got it?"

Zecora didn't need to be told twice. Applejack watched her striped legs gallop past, hooves hammering the bridge, out of sight. Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide, her mouth small, leaning back.

Butterscotch stomped the hoof closest to Applejack's head, "Got. It?"

The second time was the charm. With pinned ears and a tucked tail, Rainbow Dash flew off. Butterscotch stepped back over Applejack, resting on his hindquarters and kneeling down so she could see his face. He glared down at her. No, he wasn't glaring. He was Staring.

"I am very upset with you, Applejack."

She felt like a foal.

"I'm more than upset. I'm disgusted and disappointed. You're one of my best friends, yet you violated me."

Her heart slammed into her ribcage with every beat. She wished she could vomit it out.

"You betrayed my trust, our friendship. You used me, and you were ready to keep using me until you had your fill. I cannot emphasize enough how reprehensible your actions were. So I'm going to focus on what's going to happen next, instead."

Butterscotch leaned his body forward until his snout touched Applejack's. The Stare kept her from recoiling. He lowered his voice to a soft, forceful whisper, "You're going to listen and do exactly as I say. You are not going to do anything I don't tell you to. If you do, there will be consequences. Nod your head if you understand."

Her heart skipped a beat. She nodded, her snout rubbing against his. The sensitive flesh washed a numb heat over her, indiscriminate in what it made feel hot. She cursed herself for getting off on this. Even now, all she could think about was sex.

She had no idea what Butterscotch had in store for her, she just wanted it to be over with. Whatever humiliation he had for her, she would weather, anything to make this nightmare end. Anything to go home and lock herself away until this blasted heat was over.

"Good. Get up and go inside." Butterscotch stepped away, letting Applejack get to her hooves. It was a slow, shaky process. She cowered in place, looking for a hint of mercy or assurance from Butterscotch. He tilted his head towards the door. Applejack held her breath, tail tucked between her legs and stuck to her belly with her drippings, and trotted towards the door.

Butterscotch was close behind. Twice she swore she felt his breath on her flank, but her neck was too stiff to turn. She picked up her pace and cantered through the door, coming to a stop in the center of the room. The door closed behind her, and she heard the click of a lock. She winked with a wet pop, loud enough that he must have heard. Her eyes screwed shut and she wished she was normal.

She waited in silence. Her ears lifted up and swiveled behind herself, hearing Butterscotch mumbling to himself, too quiet to be distinct. He stopped mumbling and walked towards her, going from hard hoofbeats on the wood floor to soft ones on the rug she stood upon. She expected him to stop once he reached the rug, but he continued. She kept her eyes closed.

She felt his weight depress the carpet beside her, the warmth of his body radiating onto hers. She could feel it close in on her neck, his breath hitting her ear, making them flick with each puff. She felt the way the air moved inside, the shape of the command circling the soft flesh, "Upstairs."

Her body moved on its own. She scrambled towards the steps, tail flagging. She felt every heartbeat pulsing through the veins running up her neck, through her cheeks, all over her face.

He had to know what he was doing. Had to. He was working her into a frenzy. Why? Her dock was so stiff. It was so hard to lower it, to stop presenting for him.

"Don't hide it."

She froze on the steps. Any remaining willpower she had left her and she let her tail hang high, thoughts hazing over. He drew closer. He knew what he was doing. Why? What did he have planned? Was he going to blue-bean her? Make her humiliate herself for his pleasure? That would be his revenge. Controlling her, driving her insane without hope of relief. She might jump out the window if that happened. If she landed on her neck, it would—

"I didn't tell you to stop." He hit with a swift hoof, slapping her flanks with a smack. It was painful. It was an indescribable pleasure. She spilled up the stairs with a yelp, hind hooves slipping on the trail her squelching nethers left behind.

Butterscotch issued his next command before she could reach the second floor, "Bedroom." Her mind and body were in complete agreement and didn't need to be told twice. She threw open the door and hopped right onto the bed, face-down in the sheets and tail up, swinging in the air. Her ears strained from her skull, listening for Butterscotch, but she didn't hear him approach. He was mumbling to himself again, and whatever the conversation was sounded heated.

Finally, she heard his hoofbeats come down the hallway and stop in the door, "I didn't tell you to get on the bed."

Applejack slipped on the covers in her haste to get off the bed and came crashing down. Don't get ahead of yourself, Applejack. Don't hope. Take it as it comes. She reached for her fallen hat.

"Leave it."

She left it. She turned to watch Butterscotch walk across the room, arrested by the way he had changed. He bore a confident, commanding stride of a proper stallion. Hard eyes that didn’t avoid her so much as ignore her. She wanted those eyes on her.

He focused on the bed, and she shuffled aside to make room. He climbed atop it and sat on the edge, hind legs stuck together. A blush overcame his face, but he looked Applejack in the eyes and held his hoof out, "Hairband."

She let her hair down and hoofed the little red loop over. Butterscotch leaned over and set it on the nightstand, "Okay, now..."

He spread his legs, giving her a perfect view in full light of what was tucked between them. "Get to work."

She stared at the bulging citron button of his sheath, the heavy balls resting over the edge that shifted with him as he wriggled into place, the sack forming lips as his balls dragged across the fabric. She scooted forward to kiss them, the rug teasing her lower lips, the upper ones smooching both testicles individually.

She closed her eyes to better appreciate the smell. It was of faint sweat and a lingering stench of sex from yesterday beneath honeyed soap and his natural aroma of vanilla and clover. Her snout pressed forward, wrapping itself in his boiling sack of its own accord, her nostrils sucking up the skin. She felt light-headed, spirited away to another time and place. This was punishment? No, Butterscotch, this was paradise.

Then her mane was in his hoof and she was pulled up, pressed into his sheath. "Stop wasting time."

It wasn't paradise. He was paradise. And her visit was conditional on his pleasure. Violating his terms earned punishment. She eagerly met them with an open mouth, closing it around his sheath, and sucking, tongue digging into the center, bathing in foul moisture and ringing the soft ridges of his cock. She scrunched, digging in. This was where she wanted to be, where she belonged.

Her hair hung loose in the air, Butterscotch's hoof holding it aloft. She heard his deep breaths. He was trying to resist her.

She rose from being seated to a squat, tail desperate. The faster he got hard, the sooner her ache would be cooled. She was going to make him scream. Make him hold her down and scream.

His cock rose to meet her tongue, setting it aflame. She hollowed her cheeks. His soft, flaccid length began to fill her mouth. Just as it pressed against the roof of her mouth, he yanked her mane, pulling her off with a pop. Her eyes flew open and she stared up at him, panting, betrayed. "Stop."

Her chest heaved, "But I—"

Butterscotch slapped across the cheek, shutting her up with a squeak, "I didn't say you could talk." He looked away from her for a moment, wincing, before his gaze returned, "Y-You're enjoying yourself too much. Have some modesty."

His cock continued to rise, the flare pressing against her chin, stiffening past it to brush her lips. She needed it. She needed to taste his pulse, for him to pulverize her throat, to bottom out of her gullet and fill her stomach with roiling load after load after load. How was she supposed to control herself?

She stole a lick.

He jerked her away. She cried out, her roots straining to stay planted in her scalp, "What did I just say!?" He wrapped her mane once around his cannon, hoisting her up until her forelegs had no ground to stand on. Another slap, harder. She felt the imprint of his hoof mark her. She couldn't stop winking, "Are you deaf?"

She shook her head, precariously balanced on her hind legs to relieve the love on her scalp.

"Dumb?"

She shook her head again.

"Then why didn't you listen?" He glared.

She paused, searching his angry gaze for an answer. He looked expectant.

So she opened her mouth to speak, and was met with another hair pull. She quivered in shallow orgasm, "You aren't taking this seriously. You aren't taking me seriously. Y-You're actually…” He gulped, “getting off on this."

She pleaded with her eyes. Butterscotch couldn't have second thoughts about this. He couldn't. It was perfect. She needed him to keep going.

The flustered stallion gulped, then hardened his voice and gaze once more, "Looks like I'm going to need to b-beat it into you who's in control, here."

She hung in his hoof by puppet strings. He lowered her, and brought her to the base of his cock with a hoof pressed against the back of her head. He wasn't completely hard. His twitching length hung in the air, arcing, the flare burning the spot between her eyes with every bounce. Her chin and the underside of her muzzle baked on two coals.

He let go of her strings and took his cock in hoof, raising it up to fling it down on the same spot, making her go cross-eyed as it hit. It felt like being slapped. He was thick enough for it to hurt if he wanted it to.

Her drunk eyes uncrossed and prayed, following his might up to the flare. It blurred in her vision as she focused on the stallion towering over her. There was a new emotion in his eyes, beyond anger, beyond pain, beyond disgust. Lust.

Yes. Yes! Crave me, degrade me, make me something obscene, Applejack thought. Ruin me, make me worthless, own me. Love me.

He must have understood her. He fully hardened and whinnied, sensuous breathing making her ears go haywire. He giggled, looking heady in a clouded gaze, as he brought his cock up once more.

"Sweet Solaris," he murmured with a smile. Mouth open and thought unfinished, he leaned back and brought his cock down hard on the tip of her snout. She half-whimpered, half-moaned with the sharp sting. He rocked his hips forward and back, running it up the bridge of her snout to press between her eyes. They were locked on the flare, crossing and uncrossing with its movements. A strand of pre connected the head of his cock to the spot between her eyes. He broke it by pulling back smacking her again, harder. He dragged his cock down one side of her muzzle and tapped it against her cheek. He brought it underneath, smearing pre across her neck before repeating the tapping on the other cheek. She sunk into her role as his playground, panting.

"Suck it."

All too willing, she reared back, bracing herself on the edge of the bed, and fished the flare down. Instead of moving her head, she lowered herself on her forelegs, relishing the velvet skin as it passed between her lips, pursing for a perfect seal and to feel the rigidity of his erection. She studied Butterscotch as she worked, delighting in the exploration. His hoof made her learn quickly to keep her teeth tucked safe behind her lips.

She also learned that he loved it when she shot down, swallowing him, and slowly pulled back up to the head with as much suction as she could muster, tongue shifting side-to-side up his length before working slow circles around the head.. She gagged multiple times in zealous inexperience when he tapped the back of her throat. She knew both of them could be brought over the edge if she could just make it past the medial ring...

She made a long, sweet moan as he cupped her skull between his hooves. His chest rose and fell. Their eyes met, "Take a deep breath."

He let her lungs swell before shoving her down, bouncing against the back of her throat three times from her involuntary struggle before breaking past the pharynx and being swallowed by the mucous-slickened walls of her esophagus. Tears welled in her eyes as his ring slipped through her lips and drove deeper. Butterscotch didn't let her get used to the feeling. He pushed deeper, then pulled her back, and repeated, bruising her throat.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on not vomiting. She could feel her empty stomach heaving. She was certain the retching motions of her throat was making him feel good. The thought of that made her squirt. She felt insane. Her hooves left the bed, giving control of her upper body over to Butterscotch so she could work herself with both hooves. They slipped over her, splashing in the puddle beneath her rump. Her lungs ached.

Meanwhile, Butterscotch whimpered with eyes wide shut, head tucked against himself. His movements grew erratic as he came close. Applejack felt the bile begin to bubble over, knocking into her neck with every thrust. A ball broke in and rolled up, the painful bulge rising to the cock in her throat. Simultaneously, Butterscotch hilted inside and bucked, gasping. The flood in her throat pushed the ball down. She swallowed the acid and cum, shaking in her own orgasm. He held her down, riding the climax out, and her vision became spotty, darkness encroaching as she hung on him, meat on a shank.

He pushed her off and wheezed, "Breathe." Unable to sit upright, she fell and gulped air down, the room spinning. Wild. Better than she could have dreamed. She felt less need, and more. She was on the precipice of relief. All that was left was being dicked down rough and this heat would end. She'd live.

"Bed." She wanted to. Oh, how much she wished she could hop right up beside him and flag, but she was still drifting down from her cloud. Her legs twitched instead of moved, red and sloppy face covered in a fresh mess of mane. Strands were sucked into her nose and mouth as she heaved. "Get up." She couldn't.

She heard him sigh and thump against the floor. He stepped over her, hooking his foreleg beneath hers and hoisting her up, grunting with the exertion. He threw her onto the bed and pinned her, her forelegs stretched across it and head resting on the edge, "Crawl."

She worked her hooves, grabbing at the mattress' cover and pulling, but got nowhere. Her hind legs floundered beneath her. Butterscotch pulled back and bit the back of her neck. She rocked forward, gasping.

He pulled her with care, giving her support enough to drag her barrel and belly up onto the bed, teats grinding into the edge. She let her hind legs drape, useless, and buried her face in crossed fetlocks. Her tail pinned itself to her spine. He crawled over her and she could feel his weight pressing her down into the soft mattress, his flaccid cock drooping against her slit, coated in mucous, cum, and her sex. She cast furtive looks with her head tilted. The angry edge was gone from his eyes and replaced with love. Her breathing stopped. She watched as his hooves traveled down her forelegs and he pulled them apart, whispering into her ear, "Kiss."

She turned her head around and gave it to him. Forced it on him. He retreated before redoubling his efforts and pushed back. She let him, let him enter her mouth when he wanted, let their fluids mix, let him do anything. Her reward was a hard cock pressing against her plush seal. She moaned into him and almost cried when he broke the kiss. But he had to rear back to line himself up with her entrance. That was maybe worth breaking the kiss for.

She propped her front up on her forelegs, head arched back in anticipation. She could see him moving his hips, the bob of his cock occasionally bringing it into view as he aligned. The moments were long and painful, sweat beading on her brow as she waited. When he looked satisfied, he thrusted, lancing her. Her head hit the mattress and she cried out.

He worked on a rhythm. She spread, little by little, welcoming him. It didn't matter how badly she needed it, the constriction clung to him and made his progress slow. She tried to thrust backwards into him, but her lower body had no energy to move.

She watched as he inched forward with his thrusts, walking over her, closing the distance between their lips. She propped herself up on her forelegs and leaned back to meet him. As soon as they touched, all resistance below evaporated and he bottomed out. She fell. He fell atop her, never breaking the kiss.

She winked madly. Held against the bed and assaulted on both ends, Butterscotch knew how to use his tongue, knotting hers with it. And there was power in his hips. He pounded into her, making her flanks shake and legs jitter in the air. His sack swung with weight, tapping against her blinking nub. And he didn't stop. He was constant, the pressure below her stomach building. He rutted her into the bed, smearing her across its surface. Her stiff nipples rocked against the fabric, tweaked by the edge. She got loud against his mouth as another orgasm hit. It didn't stop.

Then she could hear herself. He broke the kiss and pushed her head against the bed, then chomped the back of her neck. She got louder, and louder still when he ground the pinch of flesh between his teeth and slammed into her, hard and fast, bruising the bone. He snorted steam into her mane, hilting. Her wailing peaked with the first load and plateaued, screaming long after the last gush against her womb. She could feel her cervix lap it up, starving for a foal. She shivered beneath him in ecstasy, deaf and blind.

Relief. It finally came to her, with her. The ache gone, and in the afterglow of shared warmth and space with Butterscotch, she felt her thoughts begin to clear. The way he filled her felt like home. He softened inside her, but didn't pull out. It was bliss.

She nuzzled against his foreleg that crossed hers, humming, content. She wanted to stay in this moment forever. She crooned into his leg, "I love you."

"I didn't say you could speak." Butterscotch laid on the bed in front of her, wearing a malicious grin. She blinked.

Butterscotch was already on top of her. She felt his weight and looked over her shoulder, behind herself to confirm it. He was there. And he's also in front of her?

"E—" Butterscotch kissed Butterscotch, silencing him. Applejack hissed as he hardened inside of her, spreading her open again. She was even more sensitive now, even though the ache was gone. The mounting pressure inside her was borderline between pleasure and pain.

The Butterscotch atop her rose and pulled back, leaving her feeling cold, "Eris! What do you think you're doing?" The Butterscotch in front of her rose to his own hooves.

"Eri—" Applejack was interrupted by the standing Butterscotch in front of her booping her. She frowned through the scrunch.

"Did you think I was going to sit around in your ear and coach you without joining in on the fun?" The one in front of her, she noticed, was stiff.

"I had hoped you'd be able to restrain yourself, Eris!"

"I enjoyed the show, Butterscotch. Too much to not take part." He—she?—walked over Applejack, letting her—his? his sounded better—his cock hang in front of her, "And if we're all three going to become an item, shouldn't we get to know each other, myself included? Intuition tells me she'll be more receptive if I'm you."

Every time Butterscotch moved, he rubbed inside of her in the most teasing way. She writhed beneath them. He kneaded the bed beside her, "M-Maybe you have a point. But we should still ask—"

"—Applejack? I thought this was a punishment. She doesn't get a say."

"O-Of course she gets a say! We can't just spring this on her."

Eris stretched backwards, snout half a hoof from Applejack's. Getting a better look, she noticed his eyes were yellow with red irises. He smiled at her, "Don't you want to know what it'd feel like to be spitroasted by two Butterscotchs?"

She nodded before she consciously registered the question. And after thinking on it, she agreed with her body. The more Butterscotch, the better.

"See, it's fine! Besides, I'm sure she wants your seed to take. Don't you want to knock your little mare up?"

"That's n—ah!" Applejack squeezed tight around his cock. She thrust herself backwards onto him with a needy whinny. Ache or no, she was plain horny now. She cast her head over her shoulder, rolling it to remove the mane over her half-lidded eyes. She saw Butterscotch gulp. The ache rekindled. He scrunched his face, "Okay..."

"Great!" Eris sat down and wriggled forward, pressing his cock against Applejack's cheek. She turned to face it and licked the flare, trailing from the tip down to the base, burying herself in the similar scent of his balls. Eris caressed her cheek with a hoof, "There's a good girl."

Butterscotch gasped as she contracted hard with those words. He began to move, hooves pressed against her back, traveling down it to her rump, and up again. Applejack moaned into Eris' balls, the pair vibrating against her from the volume of her voice. "Get on it."

Applejack dragged her tongue up the length and took it into her mouth. She bobbed her head, seeing if what had worked on Butterscotch would work on Eris.

It did.

She wasn't sure what to make of that, so she ignored it. When she gagged, Eris wasted no time forcing her down. Her snout scrunched against the tuft of fur at his base and retched before being pulled back to the flare. She had time to breathe once before being forced all the way down over and over again.

Behind her, Butterscotch found a brutal rhythm. The back massage was replaced by swats to her flanks in time with her gasps of air, making her squeal each time, "Butterscotch, do that when I bottom out instead. It feels—ooohohoho, rapturous." She felt Eris' cock jump in her throat with her vocalizations.

Butterscotch began bucking into Applejack, his breathing ragged, "Eris, I—I'm close."

Eris said nothing. He got to his hooves and pulled Applejack off, holding her up by a twisted ear, an exquisite pain. She swallowed air between shudders. He walked over her, still tugging her ear, and climbed atop her shoulders. She took his cock in her mouth, and he thrusted down, stepping forward until her neck bent backwards. He released her ear, stabilized himself with his other hoof on her shoulders, and rammed into her throat with long thrusts, balls slapping her chin.

Eris did something that made Butterscotch bigger, too. Harder. Like when she had kissed him. He moved in a savage way with complete disregard of her, just how she loved it. She climaxed with Butterscotch, his love sloshing out of her and dribbling down her clit, down the inside of her thighs. This one was even more powerful than the last; she felt like she was going to die. He collapsed onto her, hugging her, crying her name as she constricted impossibly around him.

Eris lasted longer than Butterscotch. He was more violent, too, ravaging her throat until she puked, her cum-vomit only making his thrusts more feverish. It spilled out in sloppy bursts, soaking her muzzle, mane, and neck, running down the bridge of her snout to sting her eyes. The darkness at the edge of her vision came faster, dimming everything to dull yellow. Her front hooves kicked, weak, and she sobbed like a drowning duck around his cock.

He groaned in condescending pleasure. She was on the verge of losing consciousness when Eris' thrusts shortened, planting himself inside of her with the last few and cumming. His balls danced against her as they drained, shot after shot after shot bloating her gut until she was drooling cum, and she passed out.

* * *

When she came to, she was lying in a filthy pool of sex on the mattress, blinking curdled cum from her eyes. She felt the fluids still wet on her face, coat, and weighing down her mane, so she hadn't been out long. She felt stuffed, an audible swish coming from her stomach as she stretched, love leaking down her hind legs into the pool on the sheets. She also felt Butterscotch spooning her, holding her close, breathing in her mane, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah." She snuggled back, twisting her head to look at him.

He bit his lip, eyes shimmering, "I—I'm sorry, I got carried away. Eris did, too. She's making lunch downstairs. You're okay, right?"

"Better than I've ever been, sugarcube." She nuzzled his neck, "I love you."

He squeaked and hid behind his mane, "Y-You too."

She giggled, giddy. Everything fell into place. Everything was exactly how it should be. Her stallion was wrapped around her, his foals soon to be on the way. Their foals. And finally, finally, the heat scraping inside her skull and slit fell silent. She sighed, "I love you."

"Y-You said that..." He retracted his head, but she didn't let him get away. She pressed herself closer, flipping herself around with a slosh so she could be face-to-face with him. She rubbed her nose against his, eyes closed and smiling wide.

"I. Love. You!" She wrapped him in her hooves, locking both sets of legs around his back.

"I love you too."

She kissed him.

"Oh, no." He whimpered. Applejack felt him harden against her bloated stomach, and tightened her lower legs around him.

She licked her lips, "Wanna help me get cleaned up?"

Butterscotch made a defeated, deflating noise, "I can't believe both of you are insatiable."

"I'd better make a believer outta ya, then, 'Scotch. Let's git."

Chapter 6

Applejack clung to Butterscotch's neck, coughing up water as he struggled down the stairs. Her hooves massaged the sputtering stallion's breast, molesting his thick tuft, "Settle down, 'Scotch. Ya can stop apologizin' now."

"B-But you could've drowned!"

"No offense, sugarcube, but ya couldn't even if ya tried. I'd kick ya flat on your rump long before that could happen."

His legs shook as he descended sideways, bringing all four hooves to a step before tackling the next, "But what if—"

Applejack squeezed him tight, pressing her fetlocks into his windpipe for a half-second to quiet his protest, "'Scotch, I love ya, an' appreciate ya worryin' about me, but stop ruinin' the afterglow." She resumed her exploration of his breast and nuzzled close.

He made a strained whimper, but continued down the stairs in relative silence. Once he stepped onto the landing, Applejack was assaulted by a wonderfully aromatic scent. The smell seemed to, and on a double-take, actually did, carry them through the dimmed den to a round, candle-lit table set for three, Eris already seated. The smell separated her from Butterscotch and sat both in chairs, pushing them up to the table.

In the center of the table was a wide, steaming pot. Before all of them were bowls of a delicious-smelling curry poured over rice. Applejack marveled at the colorful spread of oranges and greens. Vibrant asparagus tips, thick chunks of carrots and yams, and peas swimming in a creamy sauce, the aromas carried on an undercurrent of spicy coconut. Lime wedges sat atop long, white grains of fluffy rice. She took a deep whiff, salivating.

Applejack looked up from her food. Butterscotch looked much the same as she felt, although his bowl had a hearty dollop of yogurt peeking over the rim. Eris, back to her normal discombobulated appearance, wore a lupine smile as she enjoyed the anticipation of high praises.

Butterscotch was the first to speak, "This looks delicious, Eris!" He squeezed the limes over the yogurt before using a spoon to stir it into his food. He dipped his head into the bowl and ate, sounding quite satisfied. Applejack followed suit and couldn't disagree. The crunch of the asparagus offset the smooth dish, the coconut and yam awoke new dimensions in the curry's complex garam masala, the toasted spices so bright Applejack was certain there had been chaos magic infused in there, somewhere. Sweet, heat, cream, and crunch had never been such balanced bedfellows before, and Applejack wasn't sure they could be again after today.

"Abshalooli!" Applejack spilled food on the tablecloth and clamped her mouth shut, blushing. She swallowed and thumped her breast to choke the food down, "This here's the best cookin' I've ever had, outside Granny's of course." Her face fell. She tried to laugh it off, but wasn't convincing, "A-Anyway, how come 'Scotch's got yogurt? I reckoned he'd be pretty good at handling heat."

She smirked at him, and Eris chuckled. Butterscotch shrank in his seat, flustered, "That's different..."

Eris spooned a heap into her mouth with a hum in her throat, licking her lips, "I have to agree with Butt-Butt, here. You couldn't handle yours at all."

"Butt-Butt?" Applejack sniggered as the table eclipsed Butterscotch, "Yeah, I guess it is. I know we kinda already made up, but uh, sorry."

Butterscotch's mane and eyes peeked over the edge, "N-No, it's okay. You were drugged and, uhm, I-I wouldn't have been opposed if I had known Eris was... so open about our relationship."

"He's had a crush on you for quite some time, you know."

"Really, now? I never noticed... since when, 'Scotch? An' why didn't ya say anything?"

Butterscotch shimmied back up in his seat and took a bite, chewing slow and looking away. He gulped, "I-I guess it got serious back when you carried me up the mountain when that dragon came to Ponyville. You just, I don't know, seemed... real to me, then. And I didn't say anything because I didn't want to ruin our friendship, and I figured that you wouldn't want anything to do with a stallion like me..."

Applejack licked her bowl clean and spoke as she was served another helping by an animate ladle from the central pot, "Horseapples, 'Scotch. Dash an' I were talkin' earlier yesterday and we both figured the best stallion for me was you. An' I'd never let anything get in the way of our f..."

She bit her tongue and distracted herself with fresh food. Butterscotch did the same.

Eris chuckled, "You two are adorable. I can't believe I've been missing out on this!" She slinked around the table, tail end draping across Applejack's shoulders and head end wrapping beneath Butterscotch's forelegs, "Do we have any other miscommunications to air out?"

Butterscotch nodded, "I'm, uhm, worried about Applejack's and my... intimacies."

"Hold on a moment, there, sugarcube. There was no way you weren't enjoyin' yourself!"

Butterscotch squeaked, "N-No, I did! Being assertive was, uhm—it was new... and scary... and hard, because it felt like I was h-hurting you, but when I saw how much you liked it, it got a bit... a lot easier. I meant that I'm still worried about going too far, and—"

Eris squeezed Butterscotch, tickling his chin shut with a claw, "Such a gentlecolt. You have excellent taste, Applejack."

She unwound herself from the ponies and floated on her back over the table, stretching, "The solution to your concern is proper communication, Butterscotch. As hot as the heat of the moment might be, talking before you get started and setting boundaries is important." She licked her lips, "Although I do enjoy breaking them from time to time."

"Talkin' beforehand's all well an' good, Eris, but it's mighty hard to get a word out with a cock stirrin' up lunch." Applejack giggled in aroused delight as Butterscotch hid behind his hooves and wings.

"Quite right, Applejack, that's why you establish a signal at the start before the steam comes out. Tapping a leg with your hoof, or using a safe word—"

Applejack rapped the table, "Oh, I heard of those! Somethin' like 'apples!'"

"O-Or bunny?" An eye peeked between Butterscotch's spread wings.

Eris pinched the bridge of her snout with a claw, "Or Hastur, but it's important the word wouldn't come up during sex. So no, ‘apples’ is a bad one." Applejack wilted.

"And so is ‘bunny.’" Butterscotch hid back behind his wings.

"And Hastur... well, it's quite dangerous to go on repeating that." She had a dreamy look in her eyes that made Applejack shiver, "So that's why we should use something simple and obvious. The phrase 'safe word' itself works wonderfully. We can get more complex as we learn about each other in detail."

Applejack nodded, "Sounds reasonable to me. So you're really fine with me joinin' the herd, Eris?"

"Chaos incarnate."

"Right. Well, that settles it! We need ta start plannin' the wedding. I'll invite the whole Apple clan! 'Scotch, we gotta go home an' tell Granny that—"

The name made her pause. She knew she would have to confront Granny soon. And the sooner she confronted her, the better. It wouldn't do to let this wallow.

She lead with a sigh, slipping out of her chair, "I'd better head on back home an' have a talk with Granny about... what happened."

Butterscotch emerged from hiding, "I'll go with you."

"Me too!"

"No, Eris, it's best you don't come along."

Butterscotch nodded. Eris pouted, "But I looove drama!"

"I don't mean to be rude, Eris, but you'll probably wind up making things worse if you're there..." Butterscotch got off his chair and trotted over to Applejack's side, "Oh, but, thank you for the food! It was very delicious."

Applejack nodded and motioned to tilt her hat towards Eris, but her hoof moved through air, "Shoot, forgot my hat. Hold on, let—"

"—me get that for you?" Eris snapped her paw and Applejack felt her stetson adorn her head once more.

She tipped it, "Thank ya kindly! We'll be back quick as can be."

At that, Applejack trotted out the door with Butterscotch by her side, abreast with him the whole way back. Talk was minimal and frivolous with Applejack in a mood that soured the closer she came home. Drugged. Drugged! Applejack snorted every time the word entered her mind. Granny Smith had her drugged. She had an idea why Granny had her drugged. She had probably had her drugged to force Applejack to get with a stallion.

Granny had been pestering Applejack for years to hurry up and settle down. Granny never talked about why she didn't harp on Big Gala about having foals, but thinking on the looks her older sister had given Cheerilee, she suspected it was something best left buried. Apple Bloom hadn't even gotten her cutie mark yet, but Applejack was sure as soon as she did, Granny would start setting up 'play-dates' with colts. The old mare was foal-crazy! So crazy that she'd drug her own grandfilly into having them.

By the time they reached the front gate of Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack wore a scowl and was popping veins.

Butterscotch fell back, "I think I hear shouting from the barn..."

Applejack galloped to the barn, and soon picked up on the sound of Rainbow Dash’s loud, foul language. Big Gala sat outside the barn, biting a struggling Apple Bloom by the skin of her neck, her hooves holding down the filly's ears. Applejack nodded her head to Big Gala and waited by the barn doors.

Big Gala stood up to trot off. Apple Bloom kicked in the air, ineffective, "What the hay's goin' on, Applejack? Why won't nopony tell me anything?!"

"I'll tell ya afterwards, Apple Bloom. Jus' be a good filly and stay with Big Gala until Granny an' I come back for dinner, alright?"

"Not like I got a choice," Apple Bloom said with a grunt, forelegs crossed. Big Gala trotted off to the home, passing Butterscotch on his way up. Once Apple Bloom was out of earshot, Applejack opened up the barn door.

Zecora struggled to restrain the small pegasus, pleading around a rainbow tail in her mouth, "Rainbow Dash, please, I know you're upset, but don't do something that you will regret!"

Rainbow Dash struggled against Zecora's hold, her powerful wings dragging the Zebra across the dirt floor of the barn towards a stone-faced Granny Smith, "I'M GONNA BEAT THE LIVIN' DAYLIGHTS OUTTA THIS OLD SACK OF—"

"You ain't gonna do nothin', Dash!" Applejack tackled Dash to the floor, skidding in the dirt as Zecora tumbled with them. She landed at the top of the pile, with Zecora below her, and Dash on the bottom, "If you touch a hair on Granny's head, I'll buck you into next week!"

"Get off of me!"

"Not until you promise me you're not gonna do anything foalish!" Applejack pinned Rainbow Dash's wing with a hoof and stood up, letting Zecora extricate from the pile-up.

"Ow, ow, ow! Fine, I won't give her what she deserves, just get off me!" Applejack stepped off and away, watching Dash get to her hooves, "Go easy on the wings..."

"What the hay did you think you were gonna accomplish, haulin' Granny out here and pickin' a fight?"

"She’s the one that said we'd talk in the barn!" Dash stabbed a hoof at Granny Smith. Applejack looked at her grandmother, who only betrayed a nod.

Butterscotch had crept inside the barn at some point. He was whispering with Zecora. Applejack shook her head, "You still picked the fight, comin' over here! What did you think you were gonna do to her? Fight her?"

Dash threw her hooves up, "We wanted to make her apologize. But she won't!" She stomped.

"If she's gonna apologize to anypony, it'd be me an' Zecora!"

"That's just it, AJ—she won't. She won't apologize to Zecora, and she never said she was gonna apologize to you, either!"

Applejack snorted, "Like I can believe that." She walked over to Granny Smith and sat down in front of her, frowning, "You wouldn't really go an' have me drugged and not say sorry, right?"

Granny nodded, "I would."

Applejack looked back at Rainbow Dash with a smile, "See, she said she would—" Her head whipped back, "You'd what?"

"Told you," Rainbow Dash growled.

"An' I'd do it again in a heartbeat!"

"Wh-What? Granny, you know what you're sayin', right?" Getting to her hooves, Applejack stared.

"Oh, I know full well jus' what I'm sayin', Applejack. An' I knew full well jus' what I was doin'!" Granny Smith lurched forward with her walker, "An' I'd do it again! Shoot, if it ain't worked this year, I'll go an' do it again next Spring!"

"Worked? What do ya mean, worked?" Applejack met Granny Smith halfway, a hoof from her grandmother's face. Her frown now bore teeth.

"Well, ain't that'cha coltfriend ya brought over fer my blessin'?" She waggled a limb at Butterscotch, who hid behind Zecora.

"He—I—Do you have any idea what I went through the past two weeks?!" Her ears pinned back in anger, "How it felt to fall so far behind on the farm? Betrayed by your own body?"

Granny Smith's expressionless face didn't falter, "Almost everypony here's been a filly, AJ."

"You dirtbag! I'm gonna—"

"Dash! Shut up an' let me handle this," Applejack barked over her shoulder, then turned back to Granny, "Been a—what I just went through ain't natural for a filly! It ain't natural for mares, neither. Those drugs got me so worked up I—I made some really bad decisions! An' I hurt one of my best friends."

"Went out an' had yer way with a stallion, eh? How traditional!"

"Raped. Raped a stallion. One of my best friends! Butterscotch, he's right over there, that's the stallion I raped!" Applejack's hoof pointed at the quivering yellow mass hiding behind a consoling Zecora, "An' don't give me any hooey about tradition, neither! It weren't right then, an' it ain't right now!"

"Ain't right? You know what ain't right, Applejack? Throwin' yer life away for a farm!" Granny Smith hit the ground with her walker, getting snout to snout with Applejack, "Lettin' the best years of yer life run past like a greased pig 'cause yer still hung up on the past!"

Applejack's nostrils flared, "Granny, I'm warnin' you—"

"If yer father were here, he wouldn't want ya—"

She stomped, "DON'T BRING MY PA INTO THIS!"

"I'LL BRING MY SON INTA ANY CONVERSATION I WANT! If yer father or yer mother were here, they wouldn't want ya—"

Applejack backed off from Granny Smith, her vision hot and wet.

"—wastin' yer whole life on a buncha silly trees—"

Applejack tore out of the barn, sobbing.

"—AN' NEVER FINDIN' YER OWN HAPPINESS!"

She ran. Ran out into the beating sun. Ran through the orchard, shadows catching her tears. Ran up the hill where she'd watch her parents rise into the night sky. She threw herself down and wept.

* * *

By the time her tears had dried, the sun was setting. She didn't remember when Big Gala had laid down beside her, but it had been a long time. She wiped her eyes and it stung, "She shouldn't have brought 'em up. That was dirty."

Big Gala nodded with a husky voice, "Eeyup."

"An' what she did was inexcusable! Doin' that to her own family! Her grandfilly, for Solaris' sake!"

"Eeyup."

"Her gettin' on in years don't give her any right to do what she did to me!"

"Eeyup."

"I woulda settled down on my own!" After a pause, Applejack got into a sitting position next to her prone big sister, looking down at her, "I woulda!"

Big Gala didn't reply. Applejack sighed, "I told her I was gonna, one of these days..."

"Eeyup."

"Even if... I am a bit of a workaholic."

Applejack replied to Big Gala's deadpan gaze with a sheepish grin, "Maybe more than a bit."

"Eeyup."

Her grin falters, "An' our fights over it had been gettin' worse."

"Eeyup."

Her ears folded, "... Guess that's why what she said hurt so bad. She's right." Applejack hoofed at the grass. The sun had set, and the stars were rising. Her parents would show up soon.

"Eenope."

"What do ya mean, 'eenope'? Ma and Pa wouldn't want me wastin' my life for the farm..."

"Does the farm make you happy, Applejack?"

"More'n anythin' I've done so far. Although... 'Scotch might come close." A blush raided her cheeks, "I mean, not the doin' part, but..."

"Then you're not wasting your life."

Applejack curled up, "But what if Granny's right? Workin' myself to the bone on the farm, tryin' to find them in what grows from the soil... that ain't what they wanted for me, right?"

"They wanted you to be happy, Applejack. They wanted all of us to be happy. That'd be the best thing you could do to honor them. And if the farm makes you happy, Applejack, it doesn't matter why. It makes you happy, and that'd be good enough for them."

Applejack went quiet for a while, watching the stars. Watching her parents. There, they shone, watching over her. Over all of them.

"You really think so?"

The stars twinkled, "Eeyup."

Her tears started again, "Thanks, Big Gala."

Her big sister sat up and sidled next to her, a foreleg pulling her into a close hug. They shared the night for hours, and slept beneath watchful, loving eyes.

* * *

It wasn't the sun that woke Applejack up, but shaking. She opened her eyes to Rainbow Dash and Butterscotch standing over her. Big Gala, still asleep, pinned Applejack with her head. Butterscotch opened his mouth, but Rainbow Dash's voice drowned him out, "You alright, Applejack?"

Applejack rubbed her puffy eyes and pushed against Big Gala's snout, pushing the drooling mare off her, "As much as I could be, given the circumstances." She twists to find her hat on the grass and dons it, adjusting for a snug fit, "Y'all didn't do anything to Granny while I was gone, right?"

Butterscotch shook his head, "N-No, we—"

"Butterscotch exploded on Granny Smith. Made her cry!" Dash stood on her hind legs to sling a foreleg around Butterscotch's neck, giving the shrinking stallion a grin, "Forget throwing a book, he threw the whole library at her!"

"Butterscotch!" Applejack hopped to her feet, "You—"

"—are totally awesome!"

"Shut up, Dash!" Applejack frowned, "'Scotch, you shouldn't have—"

Butterscotch slipped from Dash's hold and shook his head, "S-She wasn't even sorry for what she did, Applejack! I couldn't just stand by and let her make my mumble mumble cry..."

Rainbow Dash hopped back and leaned against Butterscotch, muzzle craning towards his ear, "Make your what cry?"

Butterscotch's ears twitched and folded. He turned away from them and blushed, "Make my m-m-m-marefriend cry."

The words stunned Applejack and a terrible heat overcame her face. Was being claimed supposed to feel this embarrassing? Even moreso than what they did yesterday? Being called a stallion's marefriend?

Judging by Rainbow Dash's smugging, it was.

Butterscotch hid behind his wings. Applejack covered her face with her hat. Rainbow Dash laughed, "Big Gala, wake up! This is priceless!"

"M'gonna go." Applejack trotted down the hill, brim of her hat low over her hot face.

"We'll catch up with you later, AJ! Gala, wake uuuuup."

"M-Me too." Butterscotch caught up and walked beside her. When they were beneath the cover of trees, he closed the distance between them. Applejack felt his wing cover her back, his side to hers. It was a wonderful feeling that made her press against him—a little too hard, it seems, when he veered off-course. It made Applejack giggle. Butterscotch giggled, too.

"I'm really sorry, Applejack. I should have just walked away. I let my emotions get the better of me, and now my mother-in-law hates me..."

"Mother-in-law? We haven't even had the wedding yet, 'Scotch." She caressed her blushing stallion's cheek with hers, "And you're right. Ya should've walked away." He wilted, downcast.

She licked him on the snout and smiled, "But I'm glad ya didn't." She laughed as his wings snapped open and at his struggle to close them.

The sound of retching echoed from the canopy above them, "Ugh. You two are sickeningly adorable." Applejack's favorite chaos noodle descended from it, "It's enough to make me puke." And puke she did, chocolate milk into a glass cup appearing in thin air.

Then she drank it. Applejack cringed.

Butterscotch was unphased, "Eris! Be nice. Applejack's had it really hard the past couple of days—"

"—courtesy you and yours truly, in part." Eris curtsied.

Butterscotch flushed and stammered, "You know what I meant! Just be nice, please."

"Yes, Master. Shine your hooves, Master? Preen your wings?" The Eris above them hunched over and bowed as several Erii in maid uniforms polished Butterscotch's hooves as they walked, two more butler Erii pulling out Butterscotch's wings and going over them with a delicate touch. Applejack laughed, the levity helping her put last night's argument behind herself.

Butterscotch sighed, but smiled all the same, "Comb Applejack's mane while you're at it, please. She slept outside all night and it's gotten tangled with grass."

The Eris above them smiled, "Of course, Master. Anything for the Master's Miss." Three more Erii appeared; one to hold Applejack's hat, one to brush her mane, and another to brush her tail. They walked in a Gordian knot of Eris. She was kind enough to finish before they came within sight of Applejack's home.

"Do I get to introduce myself to my future mother-in-law, too, Butt-Butt?"

"You may as well."

Applejack spoke up, "Don't do anything that would scare her, please. I don't want her to have a heart attack."

"Oh, please. Heart attacks aren't my style. Now, I don't mean to brag, but dying from a fit of laughter has—"

"Oh look we're here let's go inside Applejack lead the way!" Butterscotch nudged Applejack along. She trotted up to the door and looked back over her shoulder. Rainbow Dash and Big Gala were walking up from the orchard now. Butterscotch hurried up the ramp to the door, Eris worming through the air, snickering. Applejack headed on inside.

Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Zecora were seated at the table. There was enough food for everypony, save Eris, but she could feed herself. Applejack glanced at Granny, but looked away before their eyes met. She took a seat next to Apple Bloom, Butterscotch sitting beside her. Rainbow Dash and Big Gala took seats opposite them at the table, while Eris floated overhead.

A large stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with baked cinnamon-sugar apples sat on everpony's plate, along with a tall glass of apple juice to wash the sticky goodness down with. Eris peeled a duplicate plate and stack from Butterscotch's as if separating two layers of paper, opting for chocolate milk instead of the traditional juice accompaniment. They ate without talking, but not in silence. The pancakes were too good to not elicit sounds of pleasure.

Awkward silence fell once breakfast was finished. The seconds dragged on as chairs squeaked and ponies coughed. Applejack was about to open her mouth before Apple Bloom burst, "Will somepony please tell me what horseapples y'all done went an' stepped in?"

Granny Smith and Applejack thumped the table simultaneously, "Apple Bloom, watch yer dang mouth!" Applejack looked at Granny Smith, and she looked back. They shared a laugh.

"I guess you'll start, Granny, an' I'll pick it up once we get to my part?"

"Works fer me. Apple Bloom, there comes a time in a filly's life when she starts gettin' interested in colts—"

"Miss Cheerilee already taught us about the birds and bees, Granny! Skip that!"

"Settle down, youngin'. Ya can't go skippin' willy-nilly through a story else you'll go an' lose yer place an' get all turned around tryin' ta find it! Now, where was I... right, gettin' interested in colts..."

* * *

"... so I decided, well, sure as shootin', if Applejack here ain't gonna listen to reason, I'd make her!" Granny Smith coughs, "Which I suppose was downright awful of me to do, now, but that's besides the point! Anyway, I hear she went to get medicine from Zecora in the Everfree, so I starts plannin' how I'm gonna make her do what I want her to—"

Apple Bloom stood up in her chair in rapt attention, "How'd'ja do it, Granny?"

Zecora sunk in her seat. Granny Smith adjusted her dentures with a wet smack, "Talkin' so long m'teeth darn near fell out! An' as fer Zecora, it's amazin' how far usin' a full name'll getcha!"

Apple Bloom quirked her head, "Ain't her name jus' Zecora?"

Applejack and everyone except Granny Smith and Eris turned to look at Zecora, who sunk lower still, "My name, in part, is what you've heard, but of it in full I'll never speak a word! How Granny Smith learned it, I cannot say. But when I learn who helped her do it, they will be made to pay!"

Granny Smith tittered, "I ain't tellin'! An' y'all better not go tellin' nopony, neither, ya dang flyin' spaghetti monster, or I'll give ya a taste of my walker!"

Eris put on a shocked face and pawed her breast in mock indignance, "Moi? Kissing and telling? Perish the thought!"

"Perish, indeed! Now, Applejack can take it from here..."

* * *

"... an' then I ran off to be by myself. Butterscotch chewed Granny out, Big Gala came to comfort me, and now we're havin' breakfast together as one big family."

Apple Bloom scratched her head, "So... y'all already made up?"

Granny Smith nodded her head, "I was bein' a cantankerous old coot."

"An' I was bein' stubborn as a mule. An' Granny's family. What else can we do but make up? So I think, as long as we both agree we messed up big time, AND Granny gets 'latrine duty' until my first foal's birthday, we can put this behind us."

"Well, I didn't mess up half as bad as—"

Butterscotch frowned, "Granny..."

Granny shifted in her chair, "Er, well... dagnabbit, fine! I was bein' a might bit more awful, but I was doin' it out of love!" She sighs, "An' fair's fair, I guess. I can't rightly expect ya ta jus' be happy with an apology."

"An' for that love, Granny, I'm thankful. Not for the circumstances—by Solaris, not those, ever—but in a way, you kicked my rump into takin' care of myself for once." Applejack pulled her chair along the table next to Butterscotch's, pulling him into a strong hug, "An' even if I don't agree with your methods, by Luna did it get results."

A blush crested Granny's face, "An' what a result it was!"

The Apple siblings balked, "Granny!"

Butterscotch made himself small as Granny laughed. Eris began laughing, too, and her laughter was infectious. All of the tension was released, visibly and audibly raising everypony's spirits. Applejack hugged Butterscotch again, "So, about that wedding..."

Apple Bloom jumped in her seat, "I wanna show 'Scotch 'round the farm! Big Gala, ya wanna help me with the tour?"

"Eeyup."

Rainbow Dash rested her chin on a hoof, "So, like, is Butterscotch moving in here, AJ, or are you moving in with him?"

"In their future, the farm I see, with foals running around; no less than three!"

Eris harrumphed, "But the cottage is so cozy! Butt-Butt, make these ponies see reason."

"Butt-Butt?" said Rainbow Dash.

"Butt-Butt?" said Granny Smith.

"Butt-Butt?" said Zecora.

"Butt-Butt?" said Apple Bloom.

Butterscotch balled up underneath his wings, hiding Applejack with him. Big Gala shook her head, "What a silly name."

Applejack brushed up against Butterscotch in their private world, "Y'know somethin', Butterscotch?"

"I know that your family's very boisterous..."

"I've never been this happy before in my life."

He fumbled with his words, "I-I feel the same way—"

"An' there's no way we're stoppin' at three."

She nuzzled him close as he turned red from snout to pinion, "I love ya, 'Scotch."

He returned her nuzzle, "I love you too, Applejack."

Epilogue

Apple Bloom pounded the final nail into place, leaning back on the ladder to admire her work. The extension to the family home, a second nursery, was finally complete. This one extended off the ground floor beneath Applejack and Butterscotch's window, the roof flat with a hatch in the top and a slight slope for the water to drain off of. Swan Lake was getting old enough that she couldn't share a room with the triplets anymore, and the foal on the way couldn't stay in a room with the trio growing up through their Terrible Twos and Threes.

"Alright, time to paint! Eris, send those buckets my way."

A flat board with paint cans, trays, dipsticks, and rollers floated up through the air into Apple Bloom's reach. She adjusted her smock to keep errant paint off her coat and flanks—especially her cutie mark, a red barn much like the one on Sweet Apple Acres—and popped open a can. She scowled at the color, and popped another. She had bought the wrong shades.

She sucked air through her teeth, "Horseapples. Now I gotta go back to—"

Eris swam through the air and popped an eye out to inspect the colors. She put it back in before dipping a talon and tasting the paint, "Too much apricot, not enough cherry." Producing a bonsai cherry tree from thin air, she plucked off some fruit and squeezed them into the cans, darkening the red just right. The bonsai disappeared in a scented cloud, heading for parts unknown.

Apple Bloom chuckled, "I knew we kept ya around for somethin'." She got to work preparing her paints.

"How about a 'Thank you, Eris'? 'You have been so helpful, Eris, that I cannot properly express my gratitude'? 'Eris, in all the lands/fell and fair/never have I met a maiden anywhere/so willing to remove the un- from my prepare'? ...d." Eris scowled, scribbling at parchment with a quill plucked from her feathered wing, "Ugh, no, no, no! The meter's off, the rhyming is atrocious..."

Apple Bloom went on painting, shaking her head and laughing, "Thank ya kindly, Eris."

Eris bunched up the paper and ate it in irritation, "Ih wah my pribileg."

"Don't talk with yer mouth fu—"

A loud crash from inside the home interrupted Apple Bloom and caused Eris to choke on her snack. Soon, three foals were running out the door for the hills. A light red earth colt with a dark kerchief around his neck and sassy whip of brown hair, a brown pegasus filly with pink waves tied with baby blue bows flapping ahead, and a pink earth filly tripping over her long, light red mane.

"CORTLAND! APPLE BUTTER! PEARL TART! GET YER FLANKS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND CLEAN UP THIS MESS!"

The foals chose not to heed their mother's words. They would pay dearly later when they didn't get their dessert.

Applejack, encumbered with young for the third year running, didn't show any loss of athletic ability. She took off after the delinquents and was on top of them within a minute. Nipping up Cortland by the nape of his neck, she glared at the other two foals until they slunk behind their mother back home, ears low and tails tucked. Cortland kicked, to no avail.

Apple Bloom and Eris snickered as the scene unfolded, stifling their amusement long enough for Applejack to corral her young back into the home, meting out duties along the way, "Cortland, you get the broom. Apple Butter, get the dustpan. And hold the bag open for them, Pearl Tart."

The pair burst out laughing, Apple Bloom nearly falling from her rickety perch. She clung to the roof of the addition, smearing paint on her apron as she held her gut. Eris twisted in the air, cackling mad. A voice came from above, "What's so funny? I thought I heard Applejack yelling..."

Butterscotch landed on the roof and folded strong wings. His neck and legs had picked up muscular definition from years of farmwork, although he never lost his lithe figure. His chest and barrel had deepened after so much running and flying after his children. His current passenger would ride him ragged at every opportunity, strengthening him into a competent flier.

Flapping on his back was Swan Lake. She was a year younger than the triplets, a pegasus with a two-tone orange mane and a light coat, dappled blue like a pond's surface in the summer sun. Swan Lake threw her hooves up and yelled, "Uppies! Uppies!"

Apple Bloom fought to talk over her snickering, "Rascals broke something expensive-soundin' an' thought they could get away from AJ. An' she's gonna be real mad at ya if ya give 'em dessert this time."

"Oh, dear. I'm sorry, Swan, but fly time's over." Butterscotch set the foal down on the roof and shook his head, "Maybe later, but right now Dada has to go help Mama, okay?"

Eris picked the foal up before she could work her teary-eyed magic on her father, tickling her chin and cooing, "How about flying with Auntie Eris? I can do way cooler tricks than 'Dada' can."

Swan Lake giggled, "Auntie uppies! Immelmare Turn, Ponachev’s Cobra!"

"You're the boss!"

"Eris, be careful!"

"Oh, don't give me that look, Butt-Butt. When have I ever—don't answer this—not been careful?"

He frowned and went to answer, but by then Eris spiraled off into the sky with an ecstatic bundle holding onto her back. Apple Bloom's snickering picked back up, "Y'all don't need ta worry about Swan. Goin' by how AJ looked, it's Cortland that's in danger right now."

Butterscotch bit his lip and flew around the home to the front door, "Oh, dear, oh deary dear..."

Inside, Applejack watched like a hawk over her foals sweeping up the glass of numerous broken picture frames lying below the mantle of the fireplace. Butterscotch sighed, "Hey, Jackie. Is everypony okay? The foals didn’t get hurt, right?"

"No, and we're dang lucky! Our lil' troublemakers thought tossing this,” She holds up a red rubber ball, “around inside was a good idea!” Applejack took a deep breath and exhaled, her features relaxing as concern washed away the anger, “Why were y’all playin' ball in the house?"

Cortland grunted around the small straw broom in his mouth, "We was playin' Cortlandball, not ball."

"An' what does that got to do with you nearly gettin' all cut up from Granny Smith fallin' on your head?"

Apple Butter let go of the dust pan to talk—as it was rude to talk with your mouth full, something she let Cortland know with a glare—and stated matter-of-factly, "Cortland ball says y'all can get an extra point by goin' through the house without Ma catchin' ya."

Applejack frowned and looked to the youngest of the triplets, "Pearl Tart? I'd better hear a better explanation than some silly rule from a made-up game."

"W-Well, it's actually two points if you can beat somepony else through the house, an' I was a point behind, so it'd put me in the lead!"

Butterscotch held a hoof to his mouth, suppressing laughter. Applejack sighed, "An' why did ya need to be in the lead?"

Cortland made a zipping motion with his mouth, but Apple Butter was already tattling, "The winner gets the loser's desserts tonight!"

"Big-mouth! Now none'a us are gonna get dessert!"

"None'a y'all were gettin' dessert the second y'all decided the living room was a playground!" The triplets groaned. Applejack took the bag of broken glass from Pearl Tart and cinched it, taking it to the kitchen to be thrown out, "Lucky Granny ain't here right now or she'd talk your ears off about playin' safe!"

"Whose ears am I talkin’ off, now?"

"Granny!" The triplets left the rest of their mess and ran over to hug the elderly mare shambling into the living room from the front door. They chanted in unison with bright eyes, looking at the Sugarcube Corner bag she had carried in on her walker, "Wha'd'ja bring us, wha'd'ja bring us, wha'd'ja bring us?!"

"Granny, those foals just made a mess and darn near hurt themselves. I'd better not see you slippin' 'em treats!"

"Oh, ponyfeathers, AJ, ya can't punish foals for bein' foals! Ain't that right, Butters?"

Butterscotch shifted from leg to leg, avoiding the pleading triple threat of his beautiful firstborns, "That's true..."

"'Scotch..." A dangerous voice closed in from the kitchen.

"B-But I do think they need to understand that they need to behave a little better, if only for their own safety."

"But Paaaa!"

"We already ain't gettin' dessert!"

"An' it was all Cortland's fault anyway!"

"Actually, Pearl Tart, you were the one that invoked the rule..."

Cortland snorted, "Tattle-tale!"

Pearl copied her eldest triplet with her own snort, "Yeah, tattle-tale!"

The foals started chasing each other 'round Granny Smith's legs. Applejack opened her mouth to tell them to settle down, but then the foal started kicking. Butterscotch assisted her to the couch and helped lay down, watching her stomach blink with the unborn unicorn’s warm light.

"Now, listen here, ya rambunctious foals, nopony fightin' or I'll eat m'treats for y'all m'self!" Like magic, Granny's words calmed the vortex of sibling energy and they waited patiently for their gifts. Each got a chocolate chip cookie big enough to keep them busy for a few minutes of much-needed rest. Granny beamed, taking a nearby chair to bask in the glow of her great-grandfoals.

Butterscotch sat next to Applejack, smiling, “Swan and I got those rainclouds you wanted for the northern plot, but we may need more because she kept bouncing on it…”

Applejack waved a hoof, “Ordered extra just for that occasion, ‘Scotch. Ya got nothin’ to worry about. An' we still saved bits on delivery! Speakin' of savin' bits, how’re the new chicks doin’?”

“Oh, I did think there was a cloud too many. That was very smart!” He rested a hoof on her side, “They’re all happy and healthy. I’ve already given them their names—I’m very proud of ‘Hennifer’. Elizabeak liked the name, too!” His chest swelled with pride, putting his characteristically short, thick tuft on display. His hoof ran up her flank and over her belly, “And speaking of names…”

"I still say his name should be Bright Light." Applejack massaged her swollen stomach, soothing the foal's kicking.

Butterscotch shook his head, "You got to name three kids, and I've gotten to name one! His name should be Morning Song." He massaged her stomach too, warm at being able to touch life so close to the source. Even though the triplets fought just as much in the womb—at times, it seemed, even worse than they did outside—he never overcame that initial awe. Applejack had her fill after the first batch and was thankful Butterscotch hadn't blessed her with a bountiful harvest again.

"Bright Light!" Her stomach blinked.

"Morning Song is a wonderful name for him." It blinked again.

"You know the name Bright means a whole lot to me, 'Scotch. An' it rhymes! It'll be easy to sing." It blinked twice.

Butterscotch looked at Applejack's stomach, "... Bright?"

It blinked twice again.

"See? Bright, indeed! He knows a good name when he hears it. Mama's so proud of you~." She hugs her belly, cooing at it.

"Bright Light." It blinks once. Butterscotch tapped a hoof to his chin, "... Morning Song?" One blink.

Applejack tries next, "Morning?" No blinks.

Applejack looks up at Butterscotch. Butterscotch smiles at her, and she returns it. They speak in unison, "Bright Song!"

Bright Song blinks many times in a row, clearly happy with the name. "First time I've ever heard of a foal namin' himself!"

"And we both helped name him," Butterscotch squeed, "It's perfect."

They enjoyed the peace—sans quiet, once the triplets finished their cookies—for a while longer before Eris came back with a completely poofed, vibrating Swan Lake, setting the beaming filly on the ground by Granny Smith. Swan had a cookie in her hooves before she could even ask where it was. Granny chuckled and smoothed out the pegasus’ wings and coat.

A knock sounded from the door, "Helloooo~, children!" The foals all scampered at the sing-song voice of their favorite babysitter, "Mrs. Cheerilee!"

The door opened and the grape mare was tackled by four fuzzy foals. Big Gala steadied her with a hoof from behind. Cheerilee stepped inside with the younglings hugging her cannons with a giggle, "You're all very excited for the park, aren't you?"

She got four nods in response. Applejack sighed with relief, "Thank goodness. Let 'em go tucker themselves out and give me an' Butterscotch a few hours rest, would ya?"

Cheerilee nods, "Of course. Big Gala, you said you prepared a picnic?"

"Eeyup." Big Gala timbered into the kitchen and carried out an oversized basket in her mouth.

Cheerilee smiled and knelt down to look at her hanger-ons, "It's difficult to walk with so many hugs, you know!" The foals leapt off and cantered out the door, the triplets chanting, "Let's go let's go let's go!"

Swan Lake tottered behind, fluttering bounds with her wings, "Park! Park!" Cheerilee trotted out soon after.

Big Gala stopped by Granny Smith and eyed the old mare with a grin. She got to her walker and followed behind her grandfilly, "Hold on, ya lil' varmits! I can't keep up with y'all like I used to!"

Applejack, Butterscotch, and Eris were left alone inside, listening to the humming of Apple Bloom as she worked.

Eris waved a talon. The pictures put themselves back into their frames and a parade of glass danced through the air from the trash, making itself whole again and inserting seamlessly into the frames, looking like new. She curled around her herd and pulled them close, "You know what I'm thinking, Applejack?"

"I'm thinkin' that everypony's gone, Eris."

Butterscotch gulped, "But Apple Bloom is—"

Eris chuckled, "Apple Bloom'll be paintin' that room for hours yet, Butt-Butt. Trust me on this one."

Apple Bloom's yell carried through the walls, muffled, "ERIS! WHERE'S MY LADDER AT?"

Eris curled a talon underneath Butterscotch's chin and scratched, "Which means we won't have any in~ter~rup~tions~." A pair of earmuffs squeezed Applejack's stomach, "Or any eavesdroppers."

Applejack got a hungry look in her eyes, "An' it's been a hot minute since that's happened."

"I think we should seize this opportunity, Applejack. Carpe diem?"

"Carpe *daddy.*"

"Okay..." Butterscotch closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He opened them a new, demanding stallion, Staring into Applejack's eyes with ferocious greed, "Upstairs, now."

She was all too happy to comply.